September 2024
Upgrade works at Sino Zimbabwe Cement 16 March 2015
Zimbabwe: Sino Zimbabwe Cement Company is now operating at 60% capacity utilisation following a US$4m investment in a three-phase plant upgrade.
Phase one upgrades were undertaken on the cement mill and rotary kiln in order to boost cement output. The completion of the kiln upgrade has seen Sino Zimbabwe Cement improve its energy consumption and reduce its carbon footprint, while the new high-temperature bag filter system will significantly reduce dust emissions. The second phase of upgrades will target the warehousing and storage facilities and are expected to be completed in 2015. The third phase will be completed in 2016.
"The completion of the first phase boosted clinker production at the Gweru plant. Now we can produce 700,000t/yr," said Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) public relations advisor Dereck Sibanda. "The amount invested went towards refurbishments of the cement mill, the rotary kiln as well as renewing and automating ancillary equipment."
Sibanda said that cement demand is at its peak and that Sino Zimbabwe Cement will continue its upgrades to improve viability. "The second phase is expected to be complete sometime this year and we are quite confident of our prospects considering the richness of our limestone deposits," said Sibanda.
Sino-Zim is a joint venture company between IDCZ and China Buildings Materials Corporation, which started operating in 2001. The US$4m investment by the Chinese shareholder was to boost output and reduce pollution. Sibanda said that the new technology would help Sino Zimbabwe Cement to reduce its emissions. In 2013, it was fined by the Environmental Management Agency for air pollution.
Commercial coal mining to be allowed 16 March 2015
India: In the first major step towards opening the coal mining sector, India's government will start allocating coal blocks to state governments for commercial mining. The move, which is expected to be undertaken in April 2015, will put an end to the 41-year-old monopoly over the commercial sale of coal.
The coal ministry will allot non-operational mines to state governments for commercial coal mining for end use in the iron, steel, cement and allied sectors. This will bring business and revenue to coal-rich states, which have so far only received royalties from private companies mining coal for captive use.
"Non-operational mines will be allotted to state governments to extract coal for commercial usage and market sale. States could then sell this coal to the utilities under their umbrella or any private company for various end uses, as specified in the ordinance," said a senior official. This is pursuant to an enabling provision on commercial mining and sale of coal in the coal ordinance (special provisions), 2014. The coal ministry will also issue guidelines for the appointment of mining development operators (MDOs) by states.
The coal ordinance has inserted section 3A in the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act to enable joint ventures by central and state governments and their companies and any other company, for mining operations in India 'in any form, either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose,' in accordance with a licence granted by the state government concerned.
Cement market to grow between 3% and 5% in 2015 13 March 2015
Mexico: Mexico's cement market could grow by 3 - 5% in 2015, driven by dynamism in the housing sector, an increase in the amount of cash remittances migrants send home and the government's national infrastructure programme, according to Holcim. Growth could, however, be limited by low crude oil revenues, federal government budget cuts and the US Dollar exchange rate volatility. Nevertheless, 2015 is likely to be much better than 2014 as far as cement sales are concerned.
The local construction industry continued to recover in the first two months of 2015 as it did after the second half of 2014. Cement sales for infrastructure projects might be driven by growth in three sectors, namely road, airport and port construction, energy construction and water pipeline and dam construction. Infrastructure projects account for 30 - 40% of cement consumption in Mexico. Housing construction accounts for 40% of all sales. An increase in the arrival of cash remittances is expected to trigger more sales of cement for housing projects. Commercial and industrial construction projects consume 20% of all sales and this segment has performed very well in recent months.
Podilskiy Cement reports Euro123m loss for 2014 13 March 2015
Ukraine: Podilskiy Cement, part of Ireland's CRH, has reported a loss of Euro123m for 2014, following a Euro5.05m loss in 2013. Podilskiy Cement enterprise has six kilns for the production of cement with the total capacity of 3.7Mt/yr.
Reliance Infrastructure might sell Reliance Cement 13 March 2015
India: Reliance Infrastructure, part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, has decided to sell its cement business, Reliance Cement, to fund the acquisition of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering, which it is acquiring for US$331m.
Reliance Cement is in talks with HeidelbergCement and Italcementi and has offered a 50% stake in the company. The prospective joint venture partner will also fund the company's cement capacity expansion, which is estimated to rise to 15Mt/yr by 2018. Details of the valuation of the possible deal are unknown. HeidelbergCement has operations in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh and Ammasandra in Karnataka. Italcementi is active in India via Zuari Cement.
Reliance Cement has a 5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. As part of its expansion plan, it is setting up another 5Mt/yr plant in Maharashtra, which is set to be operational by 2017. It is also planning another 5Mt/yr of capacity to be operational by 2018, via a second line in Madhya Pradesh, a new plant in Karnataka or a new plant in Rajasthan.
VTB bank selling Hrazdan cement plant 13 March 2015
Armenia: VTB Bank (Armenia), a 100% subsidiary of Russian VTB Bank, is negotiating the sale of its cement plant in Hrazdan, according to the bank's chief executive Yuri Gusev.
In 2014 the bank provided the plant with a loan that was instrumental in resuming its operation. The plant's products are sold in Iran, Iraq, Europe and the Russian Federation. According to Gusev, VTB Bank (Armenia) wants the plant to continue its operation because the town of Hrazdan is a single-enterprise town. "VTB Bank (Armenia) feels its social responsibility for the fate of its residents," said Gusev. He added that the bank would assist the new owner of the cement plant to attract an international investor.
HeidelbergCement completes sale of North American and UK building products business to Lone Star 13 March 2015
US/UK: On 13 March 2015, HeidelbergCement completed the sale of its North American (excluding Western Canada) and UK building products business, Hanson Building Products, to Lone Star. The sale was originally announced on 24 December 2014. HeidelbergCement will receive more than Euro1.2bn, in addition to up to Euro95m payable in 2016, depending on business performance.
Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has commissioned Loesche to deliver an LM 56.3+3 C vertical roller mill for the grinding of clinker for its existing cement plant in Ta Luang, Thailand.
The new mill will be designed for the production of 200t/hr of Portland cement type I at 3600 Blaine as well as 150t/hr Portland cement type III at 4500 Blaine. The scope of the delivery also includes premium parts such as the mill motor, the mill fan and an LSVS-classifier.
Commissioning of the LM 56.3+3 at SCG's Ta Luang cement plant is expected to take place in December 2015.
UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.
"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."
St Marys to reopen Dixon cement plant in Spring 2015 12 March 2015
US: St. Marys Cement plans to reopen its Dixon, Illinois plant in the spring of 2015. Citing a downturn in the economy, the St Marys Cement closed the plant in December 2008. About 90 jobs were lost.
At the time, the US Enviornmental Protection Agency (EPA) had fined St Marys and co-owner St Barbara Cement US$800,000 for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. In addition, the settlement with the government called for the companies to spend nearly US$2m to upgrade pollution control on three of its four kilns. The fourth kiln had to be replaced or shut down.
The settlement was the first completed as a result of an EPA crackdown on cement plants. The EPA said that the companies had illegally modified the kilns at the Dixon plant in a manner that increased SO2 and NOx emissions. In addition to failing to install the proper pollution-control equipment, the companies were cited for failing to get the proper permit before making modifications.
Mayor Jim Burke said that representatives from St Marys approached him nearly a year ago about the possibility of restarting operations. A small maintenance crew has been working at the plant for a while to prepare for a reopening. St Marys said that the decision was based on increased demand due to the improving economy. St Marys also plans to invest US$130m in its Charlevoix, Michigan, plant to increase capacity there.
"St Marys Cement is pleased to announce that after a seven-year downturn in the economy, we will be reopening our cement plant in Dixon, Illinois," said spokesman Steve Gallagher. Gallagher provided a spring timeline for the reopening process. He also said that all regulatory issues with the EPA had been addressed. "We've been working since January 2015 with a small crew performing the necessary routine maintenance," said Gallagher. "By the end of March 2015, we will be completely staffed, bringing around 60 jobs back to Dixon. The plant will resume operation shortly thereafter with all required environmental permits in place."