Zambia: The Ventriglia family has been awarded full ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement by the High Court of Zambia. The resolution follows a 10-year battle between the Ventriglias and businessman Rajan Mahtani, according to the Times of Zambia. Mahtani’s company Finsbury Investments claimed a majority share in the cement producer but the Ventriglia family objected, asserting full ownership of the company.

Cuba: A new railway cement terminal is being built at Ciego de Ávila. The unit will have five silos with a total storage capacity of 1600t, according to the Invasor newspaper. The terminal should be compelted by the end of 2018. The site is intended to support hotel construction, infrastructure projects and general housing in the region.

Mexico: Germany’s Loesche has sold two coal or petcoke grinding mills to Cruz Azul. Both will be used on new production lines at cement plants in Hidalgo and Oaxaca respectively. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

Each mill will have a capacity of 65t/hr. Loesche will be supplying complete plant equipment, including process gas filters, mill fans, inerting units, explosion protection valves, kiln gas cyclone separators, feed screw and drag chain conveyors as well as the complete electrotechnical equipment. The scope of supply also includes engineering for steel and concrete construction.

Loesche previously delivered a LM 46.2+2 CS type mill to Cruz Azul’s Tepezalá cement plant, operated under the Cycna subsidiary, at the end of 2016.

Senegal: Cement production rose by 5.6% year-on-year to 1.8Mt in the first quarter of 2018 from 1.7Mt in the same period in 2017. The production rise has been driven by an increase in local sales, according to the African Press Agency. Local sales of cement grew by 50.6% to 1.28Mt from 0.85Mt. However, exports have fallen by 37% to 0.56Mt from 0.90Mt.

France: The Carlyle Group has started talks with HGH Infrared Systems to acquire a majority stake in the specialist provider of infrared technology products. The proposed acquisition will be subject to customary employee consultations and regulatory approvals. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

“This potential partnership with Carlyle is excellent news for our customers. It will also help HGH to move to the next level and to build on our strong international growth trajectory,” said Thierry Campos, chief executive officer of HGH Infrared Systems. He added that Carlyle’s international reach and its experience in aerospace and defence, oil and gas and energy markets would further help to develop the company.

HGH was founded in 1982. It develops and sells optoelectronic and infrared systems and software for surveillance applications, test and measurement and industrial thermography in different end-markets. The company operates two research and development and assembly sites in the Optics Valley near Paris, France and in California, US. The company provides solutions to clients across 40 countries through two recognised brands HGH Infrared Systems and Electro Optical Industries (EOI).

Algeria: Italy’s Cimprogetti says it is making progress on a lime plant it is building with Bedeschi for Algerian Qatari Steel. The project is to build a lime plant supporting a steel plant at Bellara in Jijel. It includes the design and supply of the entire lime plant, from the limestone receiving area to quicklime storage, which is directly connected to the Danieli steel mill. The design of power and control systems has been developed by Cimprogetti, including the supply of all electrical panels, medium and low voltage transformers, the diesel generator set and all cables. Cimprogetti is also working with Idom, a Spanish company, on the design and erection phases of the project.

The lime plant will use two Flex Reversy 9 kilns with a daily production of 420t/day each, and will be operated with natural gas. The mechanical erection is almost complete and the electrical installation has recently started. The erection works are being checked by Cimprogetti site engineers in collaboration with the end user.

US: Panamint Valley Limestone (PVL) plans to build a US$45m lime plant at Trona in California. The site and air emissions credits have been acquired, the conditional use permit process has started, and studies and preliminary engineering have been initiated. Lime production is scheduled to start in early 2021.

The PVL Lime plant will be located on a brownfield site northwest of the existing Searles Valley Minerals and ACE Cogeneration industrial facilities. Limestone will be sourced from the company’s quarry in the Panamint Valley. The unit will produce 400t/day of quick lime and hydrated lime products for use in cement, soil conditioning, water treatment and industrial processes.

PVL says that its new plant will be the only producer of lime in California, where currently all lime used is imported from outside of state. The plant is expected to create 30 to 40 new jobs.

Ethiopia: Deep Kamara, the country manager of Dangote Cement Ethiopia, has been shot dead in an attack by unknown assailants. A driver and a secretary were also killed in the incident, according to the Addis Standard newspaper. The attack took place at Inchini, near to the cement producer’s Mugher plant.

A local government source that spoke to the newspaper said that Kamara had recently visited the plant as part of discussions between the company and local residents. Oromio state suffered riots in 2016 and 2017 with damage incurred to Dangote Cement’s plant on several occasions.

India: Birla Corporation has overcome sand supply issues to see its sales and cement volumes rise in its financial year to the end of March 2018. The group overcame a restriction on sand mining in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the first nine months of the year, according to the United News of India. Its sales revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to US$878m from US$736m. Its cement sales volumes rose by 23% to 12.4Mt from 10Mt. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 14% to US$128m from US$113m.

Philippines: Denmark’s FLSmidth has won mill orders from San Miguel Northern Cement, Ionic Cementworks Industries and Oro Cemento Industries Corporation. It will supply four OK 56-4 vertical roller mills for cement grinding for the clients at different locations in the country. In addition FLSmidth will also deliver planetary mill gear units and air pollution control filters. The mills are expected to be installed by mid-2019. No value for the orders has been disclosed.