September 2024
Iran: Jafar Sarqeini, the Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade for Mining Affairs, says that US-backed trade sanctions have not slowed cement exports. He added that the embargo has only placed some obstacles in the way of financial transactions and return of money to the country, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The official said that the local industry can export up to 20Mt/yr of cement. Local production capacity is forecast to reach 120Mt/yr by 2025. However, a recession in the mining sector has kept production behind capacity.
Insee Group signs quarry agreement with the International Union for Conservation of Nature 09 January 2019
Sri Lanka: Insee Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to protect limestone hills in the company’s quarrying sites in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The ultimate goal of the partnership is to turn the limestone quarrying sites into forests through rehabilitation programmes.
In Sri Lanka, the agreement is intended to strengthen Insee Cement’s capacity to rescue and release threatened wildlife, prepare mine restoration guidelines and carry out annual ecological monitoring of restored mines in Insee Cement’s quarry sites in Aruwakkalu and Puttalam.
“In Sri Lanka we have worked with IUCN since 2007 to ensure conservation in quarry sites, as the partnership is focused on delivering practical solutions which protect Sri Lankan ecosystem. We take pride in meeting the expectations of our local stakeholders and join hands with our group and OpCo’s on the dedicated commitment to enhance forestry and quarry management in Asia,” said Nandana Ekanayak, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Insee Cement.
India: UltraTech Cement and local truck companies have ended a dispute over the size of payloads in Himachal Pradesh after mediation from the state government. The disagreement over increasing the size of truckloads to 12t started in late December 2018, according to the United News of India agency.
US: Charah Solutions has installed its MP618 thermal beneficiation technology at its terminal in Sulphur, Louisiana. The upgrade is intended to improve the quality of fly ash and to increase its supply of marketable fly ash to concrete producers. The proprietary process reduces loss on ignition, ammonia, activated carbon and moisture in fly ash.
The company hopes to provides concrete product producers and builders with a source of Class F fly ash to support a growing number of construction projects in the greater Lake Charles and Sulphur region. The Sulphur terminal is Charah Solutions’ second barge-supplied location in southern Louisiana. Its LaPlace, Louisiana terminal currently serves customers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
US: Continental Cement’s Hannibal plant has been awarded Energy Star certification by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To qualify for the certification the cement producer was required to perform in the top 25% of cement plants nationwide for total energy efficiency (thermal and electrical) and meet environmental performance levels set by the EPA.
“Continental Cement Company is pleased to accept EPA’s Energy Star certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Matt Helms, plant manager at the unit.
To earn the Energy Star certification Continental Cement established an energy management policy, it identified operating characteristics and energy usage, it promoted energy efficiency and it followed the Energy Star guidelines for energy management.
FLSmidth to supply new cement plant in Paraguay 08 January 2019
Paraguay: Denmark’s FLSmidth has been awarded a contract to deliver equipment for a new cement plant. The contract has a value of over US$54m. The expected plant start-up is within 24 months and the plant is expected to be fully operational in 2021. The plant will have a capacity of 2500t/day and will mainly supply cement to its local market.
FLSmidth will design and engineer the production line and will deliver equipment for the entire production line, from crushing to packing, while the customer will be in charge of the civil design and construction of the plant.
"The customer needed a state-of-the-art solution to meet the steady demand for cement in this developing region. This contract reinforces our position as the leading supplier of the most productive and energy-efficient equipment and technology for customers in the cement industry who focus on productivity, reliability and sustainability," says Jan Kjaersgaard, President, Cement, FLSmidth.
FCT Combustion wins kiln conversion contract in Chile 08 January 2019
Chile: FCT Combustion has been awarded a kiln conversion project by an unnamed cement company. The project is a conversion of an existing direct-fired rotary kiln into a state of the art indirect-fired kiln using pulverised coal. Delivery for material is scheduled by April 2019 and for it to be commissioned by October 2019.
FCT is responsible for the complete engineering and procurement supply, including the following main equipment: coal bag filter; process ID fan; fire and explosion detection and suppression; coal dosing; multi fuel burner for coal, natural gas and fuel oil; motorised burner trolley; coal pneumatic conveying; primary air fan; emergency cooling; automatic ignition; flame monitoring; and fuel oil pumps and valve train. The project targets are low NOx emissions, better kiln operation and stability and improved fuel consumption.
Installation work starts at L'Amalí plant upgrade project 08 January 2019
Argentina: China’s Sinoma International says that it has successfully lifted the first steel column of the pre-heater tower on a 5800t/day production line it is building at Loma Negra’s L'Amalí cement plant. The work in late December 2018 marked the start of the installation phase of the project. It is the subsidiary of China National Building Material’s (CNBM) first engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project in South America. When the project was first announced in late 2017 it had a completion date of early 2020.
INC despatches grow by 2% in 2018 08 January 2019
Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) says that its despatches of cement grew by 2% year-on-year to 12.7 million bags in 2018 from 12.6 million bags in 2017. The company described how it overcame a ‘difficult moment’ in late 2018 by normalising the cement despatch process and supplying overdue orders. Local media reported a shortage of cement and technical issues at INCs Villeta plant in late 2018.
Algeria: Germany’s Aumund has received two clinker conveying equipment orders for cement plants at Zahana and Bechar. The two orders comprise 26 belt and chain bucket elevators, two bucket apron conveyors, ten pan conveyors and ten drag chain conveyors. No value for the deals has been disclosed.
The first order is for the 4500t/day Société des Ciments de Zahana (SCIZ) plant near Oran. Here three chain bucket elevators with centre distances ranging from 22.5 - 34.9m and capacities from 50 - 220t/hr will be used to convey cement and clinker. 11 belt bucket elevators (22.5 -116.1m) will convey raw meal, cement and clinker with capacities between 190 - 680t/hr. The Aumund bucket apron conveyor, with a centre distance of 61.1m and a capacity of 360t/hr, will join the five Aumund pan conveyors (18.3 - 106.8m, capacity 300 - 360t/hr) in conveying clinker. The ten Aumund drag chain conveyors with centre distances between 6.1 - 33.8m will be used in clinker dust extraction and are designed for conveying capacities from 15 - 80t/hr.
The second order is for the 3200t/day Bechar cement plant. This order was placed by China’s CBMI to Aumund Beijing with support from Aumund France. This plant will operate 15 Aumund belt and chain bucket elevators, five Aumund pan conveyors and an Aumund bucket apron conveyor for its bulk materials handling. The bucket elevators, with centre distances ranging from 11 - 102.9m, will convey raw meal, cement and clinker with capacities from 70 – 480t/hr. The five pan conveyors, with centre distances from 22.2 - 89.8m, will convey their loads at up to 480t/hr. The Aumund bucket apron conveyor in Bechar (centre distance 88.5m, capacity 200t/hr) will also convey clinker.