Displaying items by tag: Raw Materials
New transport workers’ strike hits South Korean railways
14 September 2023South Korea: The Korean Railway Workers’ Union called a four-day strike of its 13,000 members across South Korea on 14 September 2023. Reuters has reported that the union is seeking higher pay, improved working conditions and the expansion of bullet train services into South Seoul. The Ministry of Transport predicts that total cargo haulage will drop by 53 - 79%. The Korean Cement Association (KCA) said that a protracted strike would disrupt cement production. The industry is 40% reliant on rail transport.
A representative from a KCA member said “We have secured some inventory in preparation for the strike, but it's not a lot. If the strike lengthens, we will have to convert to land transport, which will drive up costs and hit profitability."
Poland: Germany-based Schade Lagertechnik has upgraded the bulk handling equipment for raw materials including limestone and flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) gypsum at a cement plant in Górażdże. A Schade cantilever reclaimer was supplied to double the conveying capacity to 400t/hr with an associated belt conveyor.
Notably, the subsidiary of Aumund says that the order presented several challenges such as integrating the new equipment into the existing infrastructure, adapting it to the design of the building that dated back to the 1970s and installing the new kit whilst allowing the plant to continue operating. Once the new equipment had been assembled the installation team only had 10 days to dismantle the old machine and to switch operation over to the new equipment.
Schade Lagertechnik was responsible for the engineering, design, fabrication and supply. Aumund Group Field Service also assisted with the installation.
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.
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA) has called for a 60% cut to duties on clinker imports, to US$1.84/t from US$4.61/t. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that BCMA members are struggling with high shipping costs and supply issues due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Bangladesh government published plans to raise the duty on imports of clinker by 40% to US$6.46/t in its 2023 budget on 13 June 2023.
Cheonnaeri Cement upgrades Cheonae cement plant
12 June 2023North Korea: State-owned Cheonnaeri Cement has completed a successful upgrade to its 1Mt/yr Cheonae cement plant in South Hamgyong Province. Korean News has reported that the upgrade involved the replacement of the plant's clinker cooler, burners and clinker and raw materials handling systems. A new bucket conveyor has more than doubled raw materials handling capacity.
Cheonnaeri Cement reportedly plans to further expand the capacity of the plant.
India: Shree Cement has won an auction for the Chandrapur limestone mine in Maharashtra. The mine has reserves of 50Mt of limestone, and is equipped to meet the raw materials consumption of a 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant. The mine occupies a 105 hectare site close to the Chandrapur and Warora railheads, 200km from Nagpur. Shree Cement will reportedly consider building new sidings to connect the quarry to the national rail network.
The Economic Times newspaper has reported that Shree Cement bid to pay taxes of 27% of the value of limestone extracted from the quarry, in addition to mining royalties. The local price of cement-grade limestone was US$5.76/t in May 2023.
Holcim invests in Coomtech
05 May 2023UK: Switzerland-based Holcim has invested in Coomtech, a developer of low-emission kinetic drying technology for raw materials. The group says that Coomtech's technology emits up to 75% less CO2 than traditional drying methods and enables increased use of recycled materials in cement and concrete. Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries previously collaborated with Coomtech on fly ash drying at a UK power plant.
Edelio Bermejo, head of global research and development said "At Holcim, we are continuously working to implement greener operations for a net-zero future, and to increase the use of recycled materials in our products to drive circular construction. Coomtech's low-emission drying technology helps us meet both these goals. I look forward to working with them as a key partner in our journey to decarbonise buildings."
Nigerian cement producers among group of manufacturers that spent around a quarter of revenue on raw materials in 2022
19 April 2023Nigeria: Raw material costs for a group of major local manufacturers – including BUA Cement, Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa – accounted for 24% of revenue in 2022. The increase in the cost of raw materials was driven by a shortage of foreign currency, raw material availability, logistics issues at ports and rising energy costs, according to the This Day newspaper. BUA Cement’s spending on raw materials rose by 9% year-on-year to US$54.3m in 2022, Dangote Cement’s spend grew by 12% to US$427m and Lafarge Africa’s expenditure increased by 32% to US$106m. The other companies included as part of the grouping included BUA Foods, Nestlé Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and Dangote Sugar Refinery.
Ethiopia: China-based Sinoma International Engineering has signed an agreement with National West International Holding (WIH) Building Materials to build an industrial park development project at Dire Dawa. The project has an investment of US$600m and will include a 6000t/day cement plant and a 1000t/day lime unit, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The proposed industrial park is relatively close to the Port of Djibouti, in neighbouring Djibouti, to allow for access to raw materials and potential export markets.
WIH, a joint-venture between companies based in Ethiopia and China, already operates a cement plant at Lemi in Amhara Region.
Holcim Mexico launches Fuerte Más reduced-CO2 cement
30 March 2023Mexico: Holcim Mexico has commenced production of its Fuerte Más reduced-CO2 cement at its cement plants in Macuspana and Tabasco at a combined rate of 60,000t/yr. The cement offers 50% reduced CO2 emissions and 10% higher physical performance than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The El Economista newspaper has reported that Holcim Mexico replaces some of the clinker in the cement with locally-sourced minerals from Southeast Mexico. Chemical compounds in the material colour the cement red.
The Centre for Technological Innovation for Construction (CITEC) Toluca verified the product as suitable for all applications. Holcim Mexico's industrial director Adrián Belli said that comparable green cements are currently only available in France and Italy.