Displaying items by tag: Upgrade
LafargeHolcim inaugurates new mill at Ivory Coast plant
05 February 2018Ivory Coast: Jean-Claude Brou, the Minister of Industry and Mines, has inaugurated a new mill at LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast’s plant at Abidjan. The new mill has increased the unit’s production capacity to 2Mt/yr, according to the Agence Ivoirienne de Presse. LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast re-used a ball mill from a Spanish cement plant that was dismantled and shipped to Abidjan. The mill uses a 4.5MW motor and the cement producer says it is the largest horizontal ball mill in French-speaking West Africa. The project cost US$28.5m.
JK Cement receives approval for upgrade at Mangrol plant
05 February 2018India: JK Cement has received approval for an upgrade at its Mangrol cement plant near Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. The plant will have an investment of US$312m, according to Accord Fintech. Following the expansion the plant will have a cement production capacity of 4.2Mt/yr. Cement grinding will be supported by units in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
US: United States Lime & Minerals grew its sales revenue in 2017 due to higher business from its oil and gas services and industrial customers. Total revenue grew by 4% year-on-year to US$145m in 2017 from US$139m in 2016. The producer raised the price of its lime and limestone products in 2017.
“Demand for our lime and limestone products in the fourth quarter and full year 2017 remained steady. In addition to the St Clair replacement kiln project, we continue to seek innovative ways to enhance efficiencies at all of our facilities so we can compete in what remains a challenging pricing environment,” said Timothy W Byrne, president and chief executive officer of United States Lime & Minerals.
Biskria Cement ignites second kiln
29 January 2018Algeria: Biskria Cement has started the kiln on its second new production line at its plant in Biskra. The 6000t/day line was supplied by China’s Sinoma. The Chinese plant builder announced the US$267m order in 2015. It included two production lines from raw materials to despatch. The cement producer operates three cement production lines at its plant with a production capacity of 4Mt/yr.
Lucky Cement’s profit drops as fuel costs rise
29 January 2018Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s profit after tax fell by 2% year-on-year to US$77.6m in the half year to 31 December 2017 from US$79m in the same period in 2016. The cement producer said that its cost of sales had increased by 21% due to rising coal and other fuels prices. Its sales revenue grew by 5.2% to US$297m from US$283m. Its cement production rose by 5.4% to 3.68Mt from 3.49Mt.
The company completed a new 1.25Mt/yr production line at its Karachi cement plant in December 2017. It is currently seeking government approval to build a new 2.3Mt/yr plant in Punjab Province. However due to the delay it is considering expanding its Pezu plant by 2.3Mt/yr instead. The cement producer also expanded its grinding plant in Iraq by 0.87Mt/yr to 1.74Mt/yr.
Punjab government confirms ban on new cement plants
29 January 2018Pakistan: The Industries, Commerce and Investment department of the Government of Punjab has confirmed that it is banning the construction of new cement plants and the enlargement of existing plants. The decision follows approval by chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the Nation newspaper. It is in response to a number of environmental issues allegedly caused by cement production in the province including damage to water tables and increased air pollution. Final confirmation of the ban came in response to the Supreme Court enforcing a similar ban near the Katas Raj Temples in the state.
Finland: Engineering equipment supplier Metso has upgraded its Tampere plant to focus on track-mounted crushing units. The new assembly line has increased mobile crushing plant production by 25%. It says it can build a 50t track-mounted crushing plant in two working days.
"Demand for mobile Lokotrack crushers for aggregates took an upward turn 18 months ago, so the timing of our investment in capacity growth was right. We want to ensure that our production capacity can meet customers' growing needs," said Markku Simula, President, Aggregates Equipment business area at Metso.
The new assembly line has six assembly stations instead of the previous five. Currently, the line is used for assembling the company’s most popular crusher models. Assembly of larger and more complex models will begin in the spring of 2018.
Aggregate crushing plants have been built in Tampere for 98 years. The first jaw crusher was completed at the Lokomo workshop in 1921. Production of track-mounted crushing plants began in 1985.
Holcim España invested over Euro2m in Jerez cement plant in 2017
25 January 2018Spain: LafargeHolcim’s subsidiary Holcim España invested over Euro2m in its cement plant at Jerez during 2017. The work included environmental improvements, changes to the despatch areas and health and safety upgrades such as fire detection systems in its fuels storage zones. The plant also introduced a sulphate-resistant cement product (CEM IV/A (V) 42,5 R/SR) in May 2017 targeted for marine applications.
Thanh Thang Cement spending US$35m on third production line
24 January 2018Vietnam: Thanh Thang Cement is spending US$35m to towards developing a third production line at its cement plant in Thanh Nghi, Ha Nam. The government has agreed the investment at the 2.3Mt/yr unit over the 2021 – 2025 period, according to the Đầu tư newspaper. A second production line at the site was inaugurated in July 2017.
Pakistan: Mian Saqib Nisar, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, has said that the Supreme Court will prevent the construction of any new cement plants or upgrades to existing plants near Katas Raj Temples in Punjab. However, he said that no existing plants in the area would be shut down, according to the Business Recorder newspaper. The investigation by the court had been taken in response to media reports that the pond at the Hindu heritage site was drying out due to water consumption by nearby cement plants. The local government has also been taking steps to stop new cement plants being built in parts of the province.