Chile: Melón has inaugurated a new 0.25Mt/yr grinding plant in Punta Arenas. The project had an investment of US$45m, according to the El Pingüino newspaper. In its first year of operation an output of 80,000t is planned. It is the first cement plant in the Magallanes Region. Spain-based Cemengal supplied a Plug&Grind Xtreme grinding unit for the project.
Jorge Eugenín, the chief executive officer of Cementos Melón, attended the event and said, “For us Magallanes has always been an interesting market. Its consumption is comparable to cities in developed countries.” He added that the region has a per capita cement consumption level of 550kg/yr compared to the Chilean mean of 280kg/yr.
The cement producer previously announced plans to double the production of the plant by building a second grinding mill if the market supported it. Eugenín commented that the announcement of a large-scale hydrogen project in the region by Total Eren in late 2021 could add further momentum to expansion plans for the new cement plant.