Displaying items by tag: Americas

US: Construction service company Bridgesource led a community meeting to propose a cement plant in Glendale, Nevada. More than 150 people attended the meeting to discuss the project.

The proposed cement plant would occupy about 101 hectares and include a 122m preheater tower and a 137m smoke stack. Additionally, a 81 hectare plot of land is being considered for a limestone mining operation to supply the plant. The deposit is expected to sustain the plant for 70-80 years.

Bridgesource said that the site poses multiple advantages for the location of a cement plant, citing its proximity to transportation infrastructure, as well as access to natural gas from the Kern River pipeline and sufficient power supply from the national grid. The company stated that the proposal would create over 200 jobs.

US: California Resources Corporation and its carbon management subsidiary, Carbon TerraVault (CTV), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Cement Company of California to develop the ‘Lebec Net Zero’ project, which will produce carbon-neutral cement at National Cement’s Lebec facility in Kern County, California.

CTV will provide transportation and sequestration solutions for up to 1Mt/yr of CO₂ emissions captured from the Lebec plant. The captured CO₂ will be transported and stored in CTV’s underground storage reservoirs. The project will integrate carbon capture technology, use locally sourced biomass fuel from agricultural byproducts and produce limestone calcined clay cement (LC3).

Pending customary approvals, operations are expected to commence in 2031.

Guyana: Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has received complaints about ‘delinquent’ cement suppliers, stating that the government will sanction any errant supplier, reports News Room Guyana.

Contractors engaged in road works along the East Bank of Demerara complained of challenges with cement suppliers. These suppliers were reportedly providing smaller quantities of cement and cement with lower-than-needed compressive strength.

The vice president noted that the Ministry of Public Works has been engaged on the matter and will issue a warning to suppliers soon, stating that, if the claims were true, the suppliers would lose the right to supply cement for government projects.

The situation comes amid the government's major infrastructure plan for the country. The ‘largest ever expansion’ of infrastructure is unfolding in Guyana under the current administration, although there have reportedly been some implementation challenges.

Peru: Cemento Yura has launched a premium white cement, designed to meet the increasing demand for architectural and decorative applications. The producer has a production capacity of 300,000t/yr, ensuring stable supply to domestic and export markets.

Technical manager of research and development Bruno Bertolotti said "This launch is the result of extensive research and innovation. Our goal is to provide our customers with a high-performance product that ensures unparalleled reliability and results."

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has begun test well drilling at its Mitchell cement plant in Indiana as part of the CarbonSAFE carbon capture and storage (CCS) project led by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS).

The drilling started on 22 January 2025 to assess the geology beneath the plant, which is located in the Illinois Basin, for CO₂ storage potential. The test will evaluate three carbon storage formations to a depth of 2210m to determine if the site can safely store 50Mt of CO₂ over 30 years.

The project began in early 2023 with seismic data collection across 87km of roadways, leading to the installation of the geologic test well.

Greg Ronczka, vice president of Carbon Transport & Storage Development said "This is an exciting step for the project as we learn which potential formations may be suitable to permanently and safely store the CO₂. This knowledge will help us design the injection and observation well network and allow us to prepare a complete and accurate US Environmental Protection Agency Class VI permit application."

Mexico: Holcim México has mitigated 1.7Mt of CO₂ emissions in housing and infrastructure projects throughout the country in 2024, according to a press release, through its ECOPact, ECOPlanet and ECOCycle sustainable products.

Holcim’s ECOPact low-carbon concrete reduces CO₂ emissions by at least 30% and represents 15% of its concrete sales, with a target of 27% by 2027. Its ECOPlanet cement range reduces CO₂ emissions by 35-65% relative to traditional blends and accounts for 56% of cement sales, with a target of 77% by 2027. ECOCycle technology incorporates recycled construction and demolition materials into concrete for non-structural applications like pavements.

Colombia: Cemex is ‘exploring’ the possible sale of its business in Colombia, Bloomberg has reported.

Cemex previously delisted Spain-based Cemex Latam Holdings from the Colombian Stock Exchange in 2023.

Honduras: Ultracem has announced that, through its subsidiary Ultracem Centroamérica, it is selling some of its assets in Honduras. The transaction involved the indirect sale of Duracem Honduras shares to Blackriver Overseas for US$56m.

The producer completed the sale on 20 February 2025, after fulfilling the conditions of the purchase agreement. It stated that the sale is “part of Ultracem's corporate strategy to focus its business on cement and concrete production activities in Colombia.”

North America: Switzerland-based Holcim has announced the name for its upcoming spin-off of its North American operations: Amrize. Amrize will operate as an independent public company and a leader in the North American building materials sector ‘from foundation to rooftop.’ Holcim says that the new name combines the business’ values and vision of ‘ambition’ and ‘rising.’ A spin-off on the New York Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange is scheduled for completion before 30 June 2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Holcim Chair and designated Chair and CEO of Amrize Jan Jenisch said "This is an exciting time for construction in North America, with the ongoing modernisation of infrastructure, the reshoring of manufacturing and the opportunity to bridge the housing gap with the most advanced building solutions. With our planned spin-off of Amrize, we aim to be the partner of choice for our North American customers and unlock value for all our stakeholders.”

Brazil: The Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) has convicted two individuals for operating a cartel in the Brazilian cement sector and ordered them to pay fines of US$1.75m.

The investigation began in 2016, stemming from a wider probe into a Brazilian cement sector cartel. The individuals exchanged emails and attended meetings to allocate market share and manipulate public procurement prices to restrict competition and entry of new competitors in the market.