Articles on the cement industry from Global Cement

The People's Republic of China (PRC), which spans 9,596,961km², is the world's second-largest country by land area, behind Russia. With an estimated population of 1.40bn in 2015, China is the most highly-populated country in the world. China is divided into 22 Provinces, five Autonomous Regions, four Municipalities and two Special Administrative Zones. Taiwan is China's '23rd Province,' although its status is contested and the region is governed by the Republic of China (ROC). China is home to a strong manufacturing industry and the world's largest cement market. Here Global Cement Magazine gives an overview of the Chinese cement industry and an update on developments since July 2014.

The global demand for alternative fuels continues to increase and diversify. Cement companies are under increased scrutiny to deliver high quality products in a safe environment, while continuing to increase their efficiencies. The need to reduce kiln operating fuel costs therefore remain one of the largest goals for cement producers. Traditionally this has involved solid wastes, particularly from municipal sources. Here, however, Ted T Reese of Cadence Environmental Energy highlights the potential to use wastes from the oil refining industry as alternative fuels for cement production.

Griffin Capital was appointed by a Kazakh resource developer to advise on a tender to the Afghanistan's MoM for the US$300m Ghori III greenfield cement plant project. The developer achieved pre-qualification short list approval in 2014, following a secure site inspection at the Ghori I and II plants that was arranged by Griffin Capital with the US Secretary of Defence's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) and the USGS.¹ Griffin Capital's Robert Jutson agreed to provide an overview of the existing cement operations at the Ghori site, the cement industry in Afghanistan and its outlook.

With the UK economy no longer the concern it has been in recent years, the focus of interest in the UK cement industry in 2014 and 2015 has been on the repercussions of the LafargeHolcim tie-up on the structure of industry, as well as the steadily increasing level of long-deferred investment. Here Edwin Trout of the Cement Industry Suppliers' Forum (CISF) looks at these and other aspects, including company performance, investment and fuels.

Oman Cement Company (OCC) was established in 1977 to produce cement for the development of Oman. Located near the capital Muscat, the company’s cement plant was commissioned in 1983 with a single 2000t/day Polysius line. Following the addition of further production lines in 1997 and 2011 and an upgrade to the original line in 2014, the plant now boasts 9000t/day (~2.7Mt/yr) of cement production capacity. Global Cement recently visited the plant, spoke with key members of staff and saw how the plant is equipping itself for the years to come.