Displaying items by tag: grinding plant

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans to spend around US$50m on upgrading its 0.2Mt/yr grinding plant at Pecém in Ceará. It will increase the unit’s production capacity by 0.8Mt/yr. The official announcement was made during a meeting between Camilo Santana, the governor of Ceará, and the board of Votorantim.

Oman: Raysut Cement has confirmed its plans to buy a 1.7Mt/yr grinding plant owned by Sohar Cement based in Sohar. The acquisition also includes purchasing the company’s distribution network, according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper. Sohar Cement holds a 70% stake in the business, with UAE-based Fujairah Cement Company owning the remaining share.

India: Sagar Cement has completed its acquisition of Jajpur Cements at Jajpur in Odisha at a cost of US$16m. It now plans to build a new 1.5Mt/yr cement grinding plant at the site for US$44m. The project is subject to regulatory approval but it is scheduled for completion by March 2021.

India/China/UAE: UltraTech Cement is looking for buyers for the cement production assets of Binani Cement in China and the UAE. It purchased Binani Cement’s share in joint-ventures in these countries, according to the Hindu newspaper. In China it runs a 3Mt/yr integrated plant and in the UAE it operates a 2.5Mt/yr grinding plant. However, before it was acquired by UltraTech Cement, Binani Cement was unable to sell its stake in its Chinese unit. Attempts to sell the plant in UAE are also expected to be difficult due to market overcapacity.

Mozambique: Cimentos de Mocambique has closed its Matola plant due to low demand. It made the decision following large losses, according to the O Pais newspaper. The subsidiary of Brazil’s Intercement said that the unit cost US$25m. It operates one integrated plant and four grinding plants in the country with a total production capacity of 2.9Mt/yr.

Gabon: Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) Gabon has assured the government that it can increases national production to over 1Mt/yr from 0.65Mt/yr at present. Carmen Ndaot, the Minister of Industry, and other government representatives visited the CIMAF’s grinding plant as part of an assessment of a memorandum of understanding signed with the subsidiary of Morocco’s CIMAF, according to the L’Union newspaper. The company plans to spend Euro100m towards building a new plant. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-2021.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans to open a limestone grinding plant at Nobres. in Mato Grosso state to produce agricultural lime. The unit will have a production capacity of 0.7Mt/yr, according to the Valor newspaper. Once the new plant is opened in the second quarter of 2019 the company will have a total agricultural lime production capacity of 4.5Mt/yr.

The initiative is part of the building materials group’s plans to diversify its business. For the agricultural lime market it is targeting Central-West, Central-North and Northeast parts of Brazil. The Nobres plant can also produce 0.25Mt/yr of limestone filler for farm use. Following the upgrade to the Nobres plant it will be able to produce 0.75Mt/yr of dolomitic and calcitic limestone. These limestone products both have agricultural applications as soil nutrients.

India: UltraTech Cement’s net sales rose by 20% year-on-year to US$5.24bn in its 2019 financial year from US$4.35bn in the 2018 reporting period. Its profit after tax grew by 10% to US$347m from US$317m. Its power and fuel costs increased by 33% to US$1.20bn from US$903m.

The cement producer said that production stabilised at its integrated plant in Manavar, Madhya Pradesh, reaching a clinker production capacity utilisation rate of 100% in the quarter that ended on 31 March 2019. It worked on the plants of its UltraTech Nathdwara Cement subsidiary to reach a production utilisation rate of 72% in March 2019. Both plants were acquired from Binani Cement in late 2018.

The plants it acquired from Jaypee Associates in 2017 are running at a capacity utilisation rate of 82%. A planned shutdown was undertaken at its Bela plant in Madhya Pradesh plant for cost improvements. The company intends to install waste heat recovery (WHR) units at these plants. Work on the 4Mt/yr Bara grinding unit is on track and the first phase of the expansion is expected to be commissioned during the first quarter of its 2020 financial year.

Dominican Republic: Cementos Argos says it had broken its production record at its 0.54Mt/yr Najayo grinding plant. The plant produced 50,194t in one month, its highest rate in 20 years. The Colombian company operates two ready-mix concrete plants and a cement grinding plant in the country.

Guinea: Mamady Touré, the adminstrative and finance director of Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) Guinea, says that the company plans to triple the production of its Dubréka grinding plant to 1.5Mt/yr. The announcement was made as part of a lunch for customers, according to Guinée News.