September 2024
Ivory Coast: The Council of Ministers has approved cement producers to use dolomite in place of limestone to reduce imports from Europe and Asia. The government said that it had conducted the necessary tests supporting the change in the local cement standard, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. The Ministry of Industry and other related government departments have been instructed to take action to support the change.
Germany: Korfez Eng. is supplying internals for a new Ø 4.40m mill shell being installed for an unnamed cement plant in Eastern Europe. All mill internals for this project have been designed and supplied by Korfez Eng. and Korfez Foundry in Türkiye. The total delivery weight of the Korfez supplied mill internal parts exceeds 150t.
ScrapeTec signs deal with Flow Energy in Kazakhstan 25 January 2023
Kazakhstan: Germany-based ScrapeTec has signed a deal with Flow Energy to supply its products for the conveyor system of an unnamed client. The agreement will mark the first large-scale entry of ScrapeTec into the Kazak-based mining sector.
Flow Energy is a Kazakhstan–based supplier of pump products that has diversified into providing agitators, filters and crushing and screening equipment. ScrapeTec produces equipment for critical points in conveyor systems that handle bulk handling.
Livetouch Investments plans Zvishavane cement plant 24 January 2023
Zimbabwe: Livetouch Investments plans to build a new 200,000t/yr cement plant in Zvishavane, Midlands Province. The first phase of construction will reach completion in mid-2024 and cost US$20m. When subsequently commissioned, the plant will create 300 new jobs. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the upcoming plant is situated close to Livetouch Investments' existing limestone resources.
Livetouch Investments' mananging director Kyle Wang said that the company is building the plant in order to reduce Zimbabwe's reliance on imports of cement, notably via Zambia. Zimbabwe already has a cement capacity of 2.6Mt/yr, but a cement demand of just 1.6Mt/yr.
Carthage Cement increases turnover in 2022 24 January 2023
Tunisia: Carthage Cement recorded a turnover of US$119m during 2022, up by 13% year-on-year from US$105m. The producer invested US$8.17m in capital expenditure projects during the year, up by 18% from US$6.95m. Africa Manager News has reported that Carthage Cement's debt fell by 8% year-on-year to US$123m at the end of 2022.
Austria: Lafarge Zement has successfully demolished the chimney of a former gas power plant at its Mannersdorf cement plant in Lower Austria. Hans Zöchling GmbH carried out the demolition work. Lafarge Zement plans to use the cleared space for a new solar power plant. Plant manager Helmut Reiterer said that further renewable power projects are also planned at the site.
India: The India Cements will pay each of its 500 cement plant workers an additional US$736/yr, effective retroactively from the start of the 2023 Indian financial year on 1 April 2022. This will subsequently rise by up to another US$736/yr from the start of the 2026 financial year. The Hindu BusinessLine News has reported that the move is the result of talks with workers' unions. The India Cements additionally agreed to pay a total US$202,000/yr in premiums on medical insurance policies for all cement plant employees.
The India Cements operates 10 cement facilities in India.
Zementwerk Hatschek's Gmunden cement plant eliminates 3800t/yr of local CO2 emissions with WHR heating 24 January 2023
Austria: Zementwerk Hatschek's Gmunden cement plant eliminated 3800t of CO2 emissions from its local area during 2022 through its contribution to municipal heating. Zementwerk Hatschek, a subsidiary of Rohrdorfer, heats local households using recovered heat from the Gmunden cement plant's waste heat recover (WHR) system.
A delegation of cement plant representatives and local officials from Baden-Württemberg, Germany, visited the plant to learn about its WHR and heat supply systems on 20 January 2022.
Plant manager Peter Fürhapter said "Municipal heating based on our waste heat contributes to CO2 reduction in Upper Austria, helping us to achieve our CO2 reduction goals under the Paris Climate Agreement." He added "We are pleased that with this forward-looking project we are a model for similar projects in Europe."
India: UltraTech Cement recorded sales of US$1.91bn during the third quarter of the 2023 Indian financial year, up by 20% year-on-year from third-quarter 2022 financial year levels. The Aditya Birla subsidiary's cement sales during the quarter grew by 13% year-on-year in volume. It recorded 24% growth in costs, to US$1.74bn, while its profit fell by 38% to US$131m.
UltraTech Cement noted growth in the cost of electricity, fuels and raw materials.
Germany: The Carbon2Business carbon capture project at Holcim Deutschland's Lägerdorf cement plant has received Euro110m in funding from the EU. Holcim Deutschland plans to use the funds to install a new oxyfuel kiln with downstream compression and a CO2 cleaning unit at the plant in Schleswig-Holstein. The producer expects to commission the upgraded carbon neutral cement plant in 2029.