MONACA — Workers will continue to be paid while part of a Western Pennsylvania zinc plant remains closed as federal agencies investigate a blast that killed two workers July 22.

Officials at the Horsehead Corp. plant in Potter Township, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, say columns in a refinery used to produce zinc oxide and refined zinc will probably have to be rebuilt before production can resume.

The company says all 600 workers at the plant, including 105 in the refinery portion where the blast occurred, will get pay and benefits while the investigation continues. That could take months. It is headed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The plant also contains a smelting operation, which is running at a reduced capacity.

The financial impact of the explosion remains unclear.