Global Cement News

Paraguay: Businessman José Ortíz says that Denmark’s FLSmidth will supply equipment for a new 1Mt/yr cement plant being built in Concepción. He made the comments in a radio interview, according to La Nacion newspaper. The unit is expected to be commissioned in mid-2021 and it has an investment of US$180m. The project is being financed by the Cartes Group, the Jiménez Gaona Group and José Ortiz. Jorge Mendez, the former president of state-owned cement producer Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), will be president of the new plant.

Portugal: Researchers at the Department of Materials Engineering and Ceramics at the University of Aveiro have developed a so-called ‘eco-cement’ that uses waste cellulose and clay. The cement type uses waste from the pulp industry such as ash and lime grains. This makes up 70% of its composition with the remaining 30% being metakaolin clay. The cement can be manufactured at room temperature reducing its energy consumption massively compared to Ordinary Portland Cement. The research team includes Manfredi Saeli, Rui Novais, Paula Seabra and João Labrincha.

India/Singapore: Shree Cement has closed down Shree Global, its subsidiary in Singapore. It said it had struck the company off the Registrar of Companies in early March 2019. Previously, the cement producer said that the subsidiary was being used to trade coal, petcoke, minerals, bags and other commodities.

UK: Thamesport Cement, a subsidiary of France’s Cem’In’Eu, has applied for planning permission to build a grinding plant at the London Thamesport seaport on the Isle of Grain in Kent. The unit is expected to cost around Euro21m.

It is proposed that all the mineral raw materials will be imported by sea and the finished cement will then be transported by road either in bulk or in bags. Around 0.48Mt/yr of raw materials will be imported to the site, comprising 24,000t/yr of gypsum, 72,000t/yr of limestone and 384,000t/yr of clinker. Ships will be unloaded using cranes at the wharf. The plant will have six silos with a capacity of 500t for finished products. It is expected to create 35 full time jobs.

Zambia: Zambezi Portland Cement has spent Euro23m on an upgrade to its plant. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gomeli Litana said that the upgrade was necessary due to the high demand for cement, according to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. He added that the expansion was likely to reduce the cost of cement.