September 2024
Twiga Cement shut over dust pollution 09 February 2015
Tanzania: The National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has indefinitely closed down Tanzania Portland Cement Company (TPCC, Twiga) over environmental pollution.
NEMC senior legal officer Heche Suguta said that the plant was also required to pay US$26,944 in penalties. He said that the NEMC had established that the plant was discharging a huge amount of dust, which was bad for the environment and the people surrounding the plant. "We have several times asked the plant management to work out this shortcoming, but they have not taken any steps to mitigate the problem," said Suguta.
Twiga manufactures almost half of the cement produced by the three major plants in the county and its closure is likely to spark the fear of a sharp rise in cement prices. According to 2013 statistics, Twiga produces 1.4Mt/yr of cement out of the 3Mt/yr the country can produce. The remaining 1.6Mt/yr is shared among Mbeya Cement Company and Tanga Cement Company.
Suguta said that, previously, Twiga had four chimneys to emit pollutants, but three broke down and the plant was using only one out-dated chimney, which was overwhelmed. "The plant will be allowed to resume operations only after sorting out the problem by controlling dust," said Suguta. He said that the NEMC had been receiving complaints from residents surrounding the area that the dust from the plant was causing headaches and respiratory problems. "If they disobey this order, we will arrest their managing director and other stern legal action would follow."
Twiga's managing director and area manager for East Africa, Alfonso Rodriguez, said that the dust was coming from an old plant after the filter of the new plant got a technical fault. He said that they had ordered a new filter, which might take a month to arrive in the country.
HeidelbergCement India dips on weak third quarter 09 February 2015
India: HeidelbergCement India has reported a net loss of US$1.59m in the third quarter of its 2014 - 2015 financial year, which ended on 31 December 2014. This compares to a net loss of US$1.07m in the same period of 2013. Its total income rose by 16.6% year-on-year to US$67.8m in the October - December 2014 quarter. Heidelberg Cement India said that pursuant to the sale of the Raigad plant in Maharashtra, which came into effect on 3 January 2014, the result for the quarter is not comparable with the same period of 2013.
Belarus: Belarusian manufacturers are expected to export 1.8Mt of cement in 2015, including 1.3Mt to be supplied to Russia's Eurocement, according to Construction minister Anatol Chorny. Belarus sold 980,000t of cement to Eurocement in 2014. Belarus' cement output is expected to total 6.1Mt in 2015, up from 5.8Mt in 2014.
"This year we have signed an exclusive contract for the supply of 1.3Mt," said Chorny. "The contract is advantageous to Belarus because 50% of the total amount shall be paid in advance and the rest shall be paid within 10 days of the delivery date. If the price of cement in the Russian market is lower than in Belarus, the Russian company will cover the losses. If the price will be higher, the difference will be equally divided." Belarus will also export cement to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Poland and Lithuania in 2015.
Belarus' AAT Krychawtsementnashyfer in Krychaw, Mahilyow, operated at a loss in 2013. This was caused by its old production plant, which still uses natural gas to manufacture cement. In contrast, the company's new production facility generated a profit of about Euro676,000 in 2014. To reduce the cost of cement production, Krychawtsementnashyfer installed a cement kiln fuelled by waste tyres in 2014 and plans to start using coal dust as a fuel in 2015, according to Chorny.
Minor mineral mining, including gypsum, now under state control 06 February 2015
India: The Centre of Mining has decided to put 31 minerals under the control of state governments by scaling down their status from major to minor as part of a mining policy change, according to Mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar. This allows states to decide the mining lease of the minerals, which account for about 60% of the total leased area in the country.
The decentralised minerals include gypsum, quartz, chalk and china clay. The change in policy will let states decide the rate of royalty, contribution to the district mineral foundation, procedure for grant of mineral concessions and rules. The Mines Ministry will allow states' public sector undertakings to explore minerals in areas under their jurisdiction.
"It is an important step in fulfilling the minimum government, maximum governance motto of our government," said Tomar. "This is being done to devolve more power to the states and expedite the process of mineral development in the country." States cannot lease out major minerals such as coal and iron ore without mandatory clearances from central ministries. High revenue earners, coal and iron ore, retain their positions as major minerals even after the policy shift.
The decision to broaden the list of minor minerals should drastically shorten the lease approval process because the state would be dealing with all the paperwork. Production should also increase. However, India could be treading on a minefield of environmental degradation if adequate protection measures are not taken.
Saudi cement sales rose by 3% in 2014 06 February 2015
Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's cement sales rose by 3% year-on-year to 57.2Mt in 2014 from 55.3Mt in 2013, according to statistics published by the Argaam news website.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, Saudi Arabia's cement sales reached 14.6Mt, compared to 12.7Mt in the same period of 2013 and 11.6Mt in the third quarter of 2014. In December 2014, cement sales rose by 17% year-on-year to 5.59Mt from 4.79Mt in December 2013. In December 2014, Saudi Cement Company sold 785,000t, followed by Southern Province Cement with 769,000t and Yanbu Cement with 623,000t.
Cemex’s net loss narrows on higher operating gains 06 February 2015
Mexico: Cemex's net loss narrowed in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the prior year as higher operating profits offset the effect on sales of weaker currencies against the US Dollar, according to Reuters.
Cemex reported a net loss of US$178m for the October - December 2014 period, compared with a loss of US$255m in the fourth quarter of 2013. Lower financial costs and higher operating profits helped to narrow the loss. Sales slipped by 1% in the quarter to US$3.8bn as weaker currencies against the US Dollar offset greater sales volume in most markets. Adjusting for exchange rates, sales were up by 5% from the fourth quarter of 2013. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9% to US$701m in the quarter, bringing the total for the full year to US$2.7bn. Adjusting for currencies, EBIDTA was up by 16% in the quarter.
A construction recovery in Mexico led to a 5% rise in sales to US$827m, while in the US sales rose by 13% to US$923m. Sales fell in Europe and South and Central America, but rose in Asia. Globally, Cemex sold 17.2Mt of cement in the fourth quarter of 2014, up by 5% from the year-ago period.
Chief executive Fernando González said that Cemex narrowed its net loss in 2014 for a third consecutive year. Despite an earnings recovery, Cemex maintains high levels of debt that were taken on during past acquisitions. Cemex lowered its total debt in 2014 to US$16.3bn from US$17.5bn at the end of 2013. "We continue to improve our debt maturity profile and interest expense through our debt reduction of almost US$1.2bn and our refinancing activities of approximately US$5bn during the year," said González.
Cemex expects to sell up to US$1.5bn in assets over the next 12 - 18 months and that investments will reach US$800m in 2015. It expects cement sales volumes to grow by mid-single digits in 2015 and to generate US$300m in cost and spending reductions during the year. Cemex also expects to pay US$500m in debt payments in 2015.
India: Ramco Cements Ltd expects to commission the US$76.9m grinding unit in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh in April 2015. The company said that, while it has witnessed increased in cement sales in Kerala and West Bengal, in other states where it has operations the demand for cement has become sluggish.
In its unaudited standalone results for the three months that ended 31 December 2014, Ramco Cements showed a decline in income from operations to US$132m as against US$141m in the corresponding quarter of 2013. Net profit for the quarter fell to US$3.72m from US$4.14min the same quarter of 2013.
In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Ramco Cements sold 5.66Mt of cement in the domestic market, compared to 6.2Mt in the corresponding nine months in the previous year. Exports amounted to 129,000t, taking the total sales to 5.79Mt in the first nine months of the 2015 financial year.
Ramco Cements said that cement production was 8% lower and sales fell by 9% in the first nine months of the 2015 financial year compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Sales declined in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Odisha.
More than 90% of Brazilian cement has sustainable additives 05 February 2015
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos said that the proportion of alternative raw materials used in Brazilian cement is one of the best in the world, according to data from the Brazilian construction industry association SNIC. In 2013, 91% of all the cement commercialised in Brazil had some additive in addition to the clinker derived from limestone used in cement production.
"Brazil has one of the highest clinker substitution rates in the world. This is due to industry research and the development of technologies to incorporate natural substitutes and even steel industry rejects into cement manufacture", said Edvaldo Rabelo, executive director of energy, sustainability and safety for Votorantim Cimentos. "The addition of alternative raw materials ensures a product as strong and durable as cement made with pure clinker and generates gains such as reductions in gas emissions, water consumption and the burning of fossil fuels in the production process."
Votorantim Cimentos Research and Development manager, Silvia Vieira, said that the company plant in Porto Velho, Rondônia is considered a model in climate change initiatives. In operation since 2009, the plant saw alternative raw materials as a means of reducing operational costs. Located in the north of Brazil, there is a lack of limestone for clinker production and the high cost of transporting it from other mines is prohibitive. "This led us to think about producing calcined clay pozzolan at the plant and increasing the proportion of substitutes. After research, the involvement of scientists to establish technical specifications and diverse tests, we developed our own furnace for producing the material," said Silvia.
Amaka Cement Industries plant on the cards 05 February 2015
Zambia: Scirocco Enterprises Limited has entered into an agreement with a consortium to construct a state-of-the-art cement plant in Lusaka's Makeni area at cost of US$200m. Scirocco Enterprise managing director Moustafa Saadi said that the cement plant would have the capacity to produce 2500t/day of cement. He added that the company, Amaka Cement Industries Limited, had been incorporated in Zambia.
Saadi said that Scirocco has entered into an agreement with a Chinese firm and an international funder to carry out the project. "The agreement has been signed and feasibility study is being undertaken to establish the viability of the project. As soon as the exploration work that needs to be carried out is finalised, an environmental impact assessment will be carried out to comply with the prevailing laws," said Saadi. "We expect that the process can be concluded quickly without any undue delays. We are looking forward to the support of our community and various government institutions to facilitate the process in order to begin the physical work."
According to Saadi, the plant will be modern and efficient and will exceed all the environmental regulations in Zambia and have a positive impact on the economy of the area and the nation as a whole. He said that construction of the plant is earmarked to start in September 2015 and it is expected to be completed by 2017. Amaka Cement Industries would produce two grades of cement for the local and international markets. 500 people will be engaged during the construction period and 200 people will be employed on a full time basis once production starts.
Dangote starts preparations to set up cement plant in Nepal 05 February 2015
Nepal: A team of technical experts from Nigeria's Dangote Group recently visited potential sites in Makawanpur and Dhading Districts to study the feasibility of opening a cement plant there.
The team, composed of civil engineers, geologists and mine experts, visited different sites in the district, according to K R Rao, team leader of director of Dangote Group's Cement Production Division. According to Rao, the team has sent limestone samples collected from the sites for laboratory tests. He said that Dangote would choose the project site and start land acquisition process within two months.
Dangote plans to open a 6000t/day capacity cement plant in Nepal, which would be the 15th country for Dangote's cement plant operations. The government has already approved the proposal to invest US$550m to establish a cement plant. For the purpose, the group has registered 'Dangote Cement Nepal Private Limited' at the Office of Company Registrar.
"We will start cement production by June 2017. Our product will be of high quality as we will put in place a high-tech quality control mechanism. Similarly, we are adopting vertical roller mill technology, which is a modern and efficient technology," said Rao. He added that Dangote has seen cement market in Nepal growing. "We expect the market to grow to 6Mt/yr by 2020." Nepal currently consumes 3.5Mt/yr of cement and imports 1.5Mt/yr. However, with big plants coming up, experts say that the country will soon be able to start cement to neighbouring countries. "We are eying the markets in Bihar and Utter Pradesh in India," said Rao.
As the government has prioritised infrastructure development, mega projects like hydropower plants, road, airport and irrigation projects are being implemented in different parts of Nepal. These projects are likely to propel demand for cement and other construction materials in the near future.
Dangote Group's technical officials have not yet decided on an alternative power supply for the proposed plant. "Though our initial plan was to invest in hydropower project, we have aborted it as it takes lot of time to develop. We are thinking of investing in coal or diesel-fed power plants to arrange a stable power supply," said Rao. The proposed plant needs a 35MW supply of uninterrupted power.