Displaying items by tag: Limestone
US: Heidelberg Materials North America has reached an agreement with the administration of Santa Clara County to decommission its quarry in the county, near Cupertino. Silicon Valley News has reported that the quarry historically supplied limestone for cement production at Permanente cement plant, which came offline in April 2020. The county administration says that the deal signals that it has achieved its aim to ensure final closure of the Permanente plant.
Heidelberg Materials North America spokesperson Jeff Sieg said that the company is ‘pleased to formalise our agreement not to restart the kiln at our Permanente cement plant.’ He continued "We remain focused on working collaboratively with the community and other stakeholders on the development of a long-term strategy for the property, so that it can continue to provide value in the future.”
Ramco Cements to invest US$91.3m in growth in Karnataka and Odisha during 2024 financial year
19 July 2023India: Ramco Cements plans to invest a total of US$91.3m towards growing its capacity during the 2024 financial year, which ends on 31 March 2024. Its planned investments consist of US$15.8m in an expansion to its Haridaspur grinding plant in Odisha and US$75.5m in the acquisition of land in Bommanalli, Karnataka, on which to establish a limestone mine.
During the previous financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023, Ramco Cements invested US$215m in capital expenditure.
India: Ramco Cements has concluded an agreement to acquire limestone reserves in Andhra Pradesh’s Nandyal District from Prism Johnson. The Hindu newspaper has reported that Prism Johnson will transfer a mining lease for 663 hectares of land to Ramco Cements. The parties expect to conclude the transaction by the end of July 2023.
Prism Johnson had previously planned to build an integrated cement plant on the reserves, but said that this no longer suited its priorities.
Fortera continues construction of low-carbon cementitious material plant at CalPortland's Redding cement plant
10 July 2023US: In 2022, Fortera began building a 15,000t/yr-capacity plant to produce its low-carbon cementitious material, Fortera Reactive Calcium Carbonate (RCC), at CalPortland's Redding cement plant in California. The commercial-scale plant will produce a reactive form of calcium carbonate using CO2 from the kiln of the 600,000t/yr cement plant. Fortera's process converts 1t of limestone into 1t of Fortera RCC by capturing and mineralising CO2 from the cement plant's kiln. Fortera cement production emits 60% less CO2 than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The 15,000t/yr plant will operate at 20 times the scale of previous pilot tests. The Redding Record newspaper has reported that 15 workers will be employed at the site.
Former Redding cement plant owner Lehigh Hanson formed an agreement with Fortera to collaborate on the low-carbon cement plant project in March 2021. The plant subsequently switched ownership to Martin Marietta Materials in October 2021, before CalPortland bought it in July 2022.
Asia Cement presents 2050 net zero strategy
06 July 2023China: Asia Cement has launched its 2050 decarbonisation strategy, entitled 'Net-Zero Carbon Emissions By 2050 - Asia Cement Advanced Deployment.' The strategy consists of multiple pillars, namely 'alternative fuels,' 'reducing cement's clinker factor,' 'increasing renewable energy reliance' and 'carbon capture.'
During 2022, Asia Cement reduced its limestone, clay, iron and sand consumption by 266,000t, its coal consumption by 17,000t and its gypsum consumption by 56,000t year-on-year. This eliminated 95,100t of CO2 emissions throughout the year, according to the producer.
Philippines: Metal and ores producer Global Ferronickel Holdings (FNI) plans to invest in clinker production operations. The company has indicated that it will also begin producing limestone to supply any clinker plants that it builds. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that FNI's plans also include new ventures into value-added processing, including through the establishment of a ferronickel processing plant and nickel matte processing facility.
India: Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC have transitioned to reporting their results in line with the (April - March) Indian financial year. As such, they have published 15-month results for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. During the period, Ambuja Cements reported sales of US$4.75bn, up by 34% year-on-year from US$3.53bn. Its cement volumes rose by 28% to 68Mt, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to US$714m. Meanwhile, ACC recorded sales of US$2.71bn, up by 38% from US$1.97bn in 2021. Its cement volumes rose by 31% to 37.9Mt, while its EBITDA fell by 30% to US$275m.
ACC announced its goal to become India's 'most profitable cement company.' To realise this, the company will implement a three-pronged strategy of capacity expansion, efficiency improvements and development of its distributor and dealer network. Under the capacity expansion heading, the producer will double its production capacity through the construction of new cement plants and the expansion of existing ones. In this, it will lay special emphasis on securing supplies of renewable energy and supplementary cementitious materials, including fly ash from its own power plant segment. The company noted that it recently secured access to 1Bnt-worth of new limestone reserves in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka and Rajasthan. It will also seek to increase its coal production to avoid the rising cost of imports.
In the 2024 financial year, the government of India plans to invest US$11.4bn in the construction of new housing, roads and sanitation infrastructure nationally. Ambuja Cements has forecast an increase in domestic cement consumption of 6 - 8% to over 390Mt/yr. It expects Indian cement production to rise by 8 - 10% year-on-year to 390Mt in the 2024 financial year.
India: Tamil Nadu Cement Corporation plans to rehabilitate limestone mines which serve its 500,000t/yr Ariyalur cement plant in Tamil Nadu. The state's Minister for Industry Thalikottai Rasuthevar Baalu Rajaa said that the state-owned producer will plant saplings to start the restoration.
The Hindu newspaper has reported that Rajaa and other ministers of the Tamil Nadu government visited the Ariyalur cement plant on 25 June 2023.
France: Ireland-based Ecocem has partnered with CB Green to launch a joint venture to scale up production of 70% reduced-CO2 cement based on Ecocem's ACT technology. The technology combines widely available alternative raw materials into a product with enhanced strength and durability compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The new joint venture will build a grinding plant in Dunkirk, Nord Department. The plant will produce 600,000t/yr of limestone filler for use in alternative cement production with ACT technology. The partners expect to invest Euro60m in the plant's construction, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2025.
Ecocem managing director Donal O’Riain said “This long-term cooperation agreement with CB Green marks a major milestone in our work to scale ACT, our low carbon cement technology, and deliver on our commitment to help the cement industry cost-effectively decarbonise by 50% by 2030. It secures production of fillers and access to high quality limestone, and is an important next step to ensuring that our ACT technology can be distributed at scale and start delivering on its potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70%. Technology is no longer the issue, scale and speed are what matters now."
Afghanistan: Jabal Saraj Cement has more than tripled its production of cement at the Jabal al-Saraj cement plant to 70t/day from 20t/day. Salam Watandar Online News has reported that the company has asked the government to expand the Jabal al-Sarraj plant's capacity to 3500t/day, to better realise the potential of local raw materials and labour.