Displaying items by tag: clay

Austria: W&P Zement has installed a Euro2.5m new raw materials processing plant at its Peggau quarry in Styria. The plant will introduce modern washing and sieving processes to operations at the quarry, with an additional sludge buffer for the processing of clayey material. Project manager and mining manager Jürgen Kolp said that the plant will improve the sustainability of the company’s raw materials extraction operations by increasing the limestone yield from excavated raw material.

Australia/UK: InterGroup Mining has secured just under Euro60m from Luxembourg-based investment group GEM Global Yield as part of a share subscription facility. The Australia-based mining company says it will use the funds primarily for the ongoing development and commercialisation of its Brilliant Brumby kaolin and gold project in Queensland. The company hopes to sell the kaolin for use in cement and concrete production or as a feedstock for high purity alumina (HPA). It says it will be able to drawdown the funds over a 36-month term following a public listing of its common stock.

Neil Miller, the chairman of InterGroup said, “The GEM facility provides a major accelerator for InterGroup as we continue to prove up the scale of our Brilliant Brumby project and the optimal development path for the co-mining opportunity of kaolin and gold. It likewise enables us to continue our important research and development work into the new carbon reduction markets of potential scale that our minerals serve and which complement their existing known end markets.” InterGroup is currently working towards a potential stock market flotation in the second half of 2021.

Romania: Liberty Galați said in June 2021 that it exported 50,000t of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) to France. The steel company said that a French cement producer will use the GBFS along with clay and gypsum in clinker-free cement production. The alternative cement reduces CO₂ emissions by 80% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), according to the supplier. Liberty Galați’s operations generate 500,000t/yr of GBFS. It says that it has cement industry customers across Europe and Africa.

General Director Aida Nechifor said “Our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030 involves a new metallurgical route – using direct iron reduction and smelting in electric arc furnaces – increased scrap metal recycling and a transition to domestically-generated green energy. However, we are very happy to be able to ensure that even the by-products of our current production process, such as GBFS, can be used better to help reduce the carbon footprint of other products.”

Colombia: The Regional Autonomous Corporation of Antioquia (CorAntioquia) approved the modification of the environmental license of Cemex Colombia’s upcoming 1.0Mt/yr Cementera del Magdelena Medio integrated cement plant in Maceo, Antioquia. The modification will allow for the production of up to 1.5Mt/yr of cement annually. It will additionally enable the company to extract up to 990,000t/yr of limestone and clay. The producer called the authorisation an ‘important step’ towards the plant’s completion.

Cemex Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said, "The modification of the environmental licence is a milestone that allows us to resume work to make this project a reality, through which it is expected that we will offer our materials for infrastructure and housing works in the country more efficiently."

France: Fives has refurbished a rotary kiln at SOKA’s (Société Kaolinière Armoricaine) kaolin plant at Quessoy. Work on the project included: implementing a new nose-ring fitted with a downstream seal, to reduce false air flow and improve brick-lining lifetime; machining the tyres, replacing of the rollers and installing a new lubrication system, to improve the kiln scanning and enable an homogenous wear of the contact areas; and installing a grease spraying system fitted with a new girth gear housing to prevent advanced wear initiated by grease contamination. SOKA specialises in the extraction, processing and calcination of raw kaolin, refined kaolin and calcined kaolin in France and Ukraine.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has begun construction of its second cement plant, called H2. The company will build the plant next to its existing H1 plant in Bournezeau, Vendée, using its clinker-free cement made from blast furnace slag, clay and gypsum. It will have a capacity of 250,000t/yr and cost Euro22m.

Co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said “This second plant is a key milestone in our development plan in order to increase our production capacity. H2 will enable us to address the growing demand for our clinker-free low-carbon cement, as we have recently signed a number of partnerships with key construction players such as Groupe GCC, KP1, Capremib, Cemex and Eiffage Génie Civil. We would like to congratulate our teams, as this second plant is the result of a multitude of challenges taken up in 2020 in order to increase production capacity. It is the rare combination of an exceptional industrial performance and a minimised environmental impact. This structure demonstrates our industrial excellence and perfectly and genuinely materialises our intent to decarbonise the construction sector.”

Head of new construction Olivier Lefelle said “This second plant represents a major and structuring step. The choice of a vertical model for the mixing tower is an innovative concept in the construction sector and is perfectly in line with Hoffmann Green’s responsible vision. Furthermore, by using Hoffmann cement for its construction, this building site will enable CO₂ emissions to be reduced by around 20,000t.”

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Kavkazcement has announced its acquisition of a Hitachi excavator for use at its clay quarry. The reasons behind the choice of excavator were its high productivity and low operating costs.

Kavkazcement director general Oleg Lopatin said, “The hydraulic excavator will develop clay reserves in areas complicated by large slopes, increasing the economic efficiency of raw material extraction and ensuring the stability of the final product. Kavkazcement systematically modernises all stages of production, which allows us to guarantee high quality and reliability of product deliveries to key construction sites in the south of Russia.”

US: The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public comment on a proposed shale-clay exploration project by Ireland-based CRH’s subsidiary Ash Grove Cement near its Clark Gulch quarry. The Observer has reported that the project would consist of construction of a 0.62km road and the extraction and transportation of a 10,000t sample. The window for comment closes on 3 January 2020.

South Korea: The Korea Cement Association (KCA) says its members will increase the use of coal ash from local thermal power plants or source alternative raw materials from domestic clay mines. The decision follows a trade dispute between South Korea and Japan, according to the Aju Business Daily newspaper.

The Environment Ministry started to tighten rules concerning the import of coal ashes from Japan in August 2019 citing fears of radioactive and heavy metal contamination. Importers are now required to submit an authorised radioactive inspection report and the analysis of heavy metal components. The KCA said its members use 3.15Mt/yr of coal ash and 1.28Mt/yr is imported from Japan.

Vietnam: Kien Giang province has granted an investment licence to Siam City Cement Vietnam for a limestone and clay mining project and a clinker kiln project in Kien Luong district. Both projects have a combined investment of around US$470m, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The subsidiary of Thailand’s Siam City Cement Group operates five plants in the country following its acquisition of Holcim Vietnam in 2017.