Displaying items by tag: aluminium cement

Australia: Adbri has announced the early termination of its contract to supply quicklime to aluminium producer Alcoa, ending in April 2024 instead of the original plan for six months later. This decision is part of an amendment to meet changing demand. The news comes amid Adbri's ongoing review of its Western Australia lime operations and follows Alcoa's recent production curtailment at its Kwinana refinery. Adbri previously supplied to three Alcoa alumina refineries in Western Australia, but the number was reduced to one in 2021. 

Adbri is also in the process of finalising a US$2.1bn buyout with Irish company CRH.

Australia: Aluminium company Alcoa of Australia has extended its contract for the supply of lime from AdBri subsidiary Cockburn Cement until January 2023. Business News Western Australia has reported the value of the extension as US$18m – 25.3m. Alcoa of Australia switched to using imported lime at its Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries in Western Australia in June 2020. Prior to this, it had bought a total of US$50.5m-worth of lime from Cockburn Cement.

Adbri’s managing director Nick Miller said "The extension reinforces our position as a reliable and high quality supplier of lime through our local manufacturing and distribution network across Western Australia, supporting local manufacturing jobs, the resources sector and the broader Western Australia economy."

Canada: Lafarge Canada, Geocycle Canada and Rio Tinto are working together to reuse waste from the aluminium smelting process to make cement. The three companies have developed a new product called Alextra, made from used potlining, as part of the aluminium electrolysis process that would otherwise go to landfill. Lafarge Canada plans to produce on average 1Mt/yr of cement at its plant in Bath, Ontario, using Alextra as an alternative to raw materials such as alumina and silica. The companies will also explore options to further expand the supply of Alextra from Rio Tinto’s Potlining Treatment Plant in Saguenay-Lac-St Jean to Lafarge Canada's network of cement plants.

"This partnership shows how Rio Tinto is innovating to find new ways to reuse waste, generating value from our operations and reducing their environmental footprint,” said Rio Tinto Aluminium manager valorisation and marketing Stéphane Poirier. “We have worked closely with Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada over the past two years to develop a product that meets their needs and look forward to building on this partnership,”

Kazakhstan: The acting Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan has signed an order regarding the regulation of several types of cement. This includes the provision for a ban on the import of cement from countries not within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for six months from Monday 27 April 2020. Specifically the ban concerns cement clinkers, Portland cement, alumina cement and other forms of hydraulic cement.

Vietnam: The Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) has proposed that the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, and Construction reduce import duties on aluminium cement to improve the competiveness of local refractory producers. At present the country charges a tax of 32 – 37% on imports of the input material used to manufacture refractory concrete and refractory bricks. However, imports of refractory bricks are only charged 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper.

The VNCA suggested the government cut duties on aluminium cement imports to support local firms and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign partners, such as China. Vietnam imports refractory concrete and refractory bricks from China, India, South Korea and Germany.