Displaying items by tag: Accident

Zimbabwe: Three boys aged 11, 12 and 14 were injured at PPC Zimbabwe integrated Colleen Bawn cement plant on 13 January 2023. Two of children reportedly jumped into a dump site at the plant and sustained second-degree burns from hot material, according to News24. The third child suffered burns whilst trying to help the other two. The children are in a stable condition. The dump is reportedly quarantined from the local community. An investigation is ongoing.

Spain: Cyprus-registered Grit Cement, a 3910t-capacity cement carrier, struck a berthed chemicals tanker in harbour in the autonomous city of Ceuta on 9 January 2023, sustaining damage. FleetMon News has reported that the vessel was coming into port from Carboneras, Alméria. It has since disembarked on its return journey to Carboneras.

Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement’s Vassiliko cement plant was the site of a tyre fire in an alternative fuel (AF) storage area on 11 June 2022. The Cyprus Mail newspaper has reported that the fire begun due to a mobile shredder malfunction. Enerco Energy Recovery operates the shredder at the 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Local residents protested the incident at the site of the plant’s former quarry on 13 June 2022.

Zimbabwe: Lafarge Zimbabwe’s cement volumes fell by 55% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. The company restarted grinding units at its Manresa grinding plant in February 2022 following a roof collapse in October 2021. In a trading update, Lafarge Zimbabwe said that the disruption impacted its profit in the quarter. The producer took the opportunity to decommission one of its ball mills for replacement with a new vertical roller mill in mid-2022.

Chief executive officer Geoffrey Ndugwa said “The company is confident that volumes will recover and grow as the availability of cement stabilises, especially after the new vertical roller mill start-up in the second quarter of 2022.”

India: An explosion at a cement plant in Gujarat’s Rajkot district has killed three workers. The Times of India newspaper has reported that police have detained two engineers on suspicion of criminal negligence.

South Africa: A fuel tank explosions at a cement facility on Neptune Road in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), which Global Cement believes may be Cemza’s Coega grinding plant, has killed a 40-year-old worker. Algoa FM News has reported that there were no other casualties or injuries. Police have launched an inquest into the tragic incident.

India: One worker has been killed and two injured at UltraTech Cement’s Jafrabad plant in Gujarat. Police report that during the incident hot liquid raw material fell on the workers as they cleaned a silo during a plant shutdown, according to the Times of India newspaper. The accident took place on 30 January 2022. The investigation continues.

Zimbabwe: Lafarge Zimbabwe has concluded its assessment of the collapse of its Manresa grinding plant’s roof, which occured in October 2021. The company warned investors that continued disruptions to cement production and the cost of repairs will have a negative impact on its 2022 first-quarter results. It added that normal operations would resume ‘as soon as possible.’

Mexico: A fire at Cruz Azul’s Tula cement plant in Hidalgo has been reported as being started intentionally by sources quoted by the Excélsior newspaper. A fire on a 500m conveyor belt at the unit was reported in the early morning on 28 November 2021. Production at the plant will not be affected. Repair work on the conveyor is expected to take up to 20 days. An official cause for the fire has yet to be disclosed.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement subsidiary Hachinohe Cement has announced that it will be receiving heavy oil and woodchips from cargo washed ashore from the wreck of a ship at Hachinohe port on 11 August 2021. The company plans to use the waste as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for cement production at its cement Hachinohe cement plant. The company said that the oil spill from the incident has had a great impact on the region. It added “In the future, we would like to actively promote the acceptance of wreckage with heavy oil attached and cooperate in the early resolution of the situation.”