India: Shree Cement has held a ceremony inaugurated its new its new Purulia grinding plant in Digha, West Bengal. Commercial production at the 3Mt/yr unit started in late July 2023. It had an investment of US$66m. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, attended the event.
SaltX and SMA Mineral agree plant for electrified lime plants
Sweden: SaltX Technology and SMA Mineral have agreed a joint roadmap until 2028 to work on developing and building electrified lime plants. The agreement means that mineral producer SMA Mineral plans to build several units where SaltX's electric arc calciner (EAC) technology will be installed. The companies have worked together since mid-2022.
Carl-Johan Linér, the chief executive officer at SaltX, said "We have now signed a long-term cooperation agreement in which the respective parties' roles and responsibilities are regulated, which is an important step for both parties."
SaltX Technology is intended to allow SMA Mineral to halve its CO2 emissions by 2027. The agreement allows SMA Mineral to use the EAC technology to produce quicklime in the Nordic region. The forecast is that SaltX will receive orders for 7 - 9 EAC units from SMA Mineral during the contract period. SaltX intends to market and sell the EAC technology to lime manufacturers outside the Nordic region and other stakeholders, such as cement manufacturers, worldwide. SaltX and SMA Mineral are accelerating work on SMA Mineral’s first electric lime plant at Mo i Rana.
Fatality and injuries reported at Dalmia Cement’s Banjari cement plant in Bihar
India: A worker had been killed and two others seriously injured at a fire that broke out at Dalmia Cement’s Banjari cement plant on 1 September 2023. The staff were reportedly cleaning the kiln at the unit in Bihar when the incident took place, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper. The name of the dead worker has been confirmed as Sanjiv Kumar Singh.
Cemex considering selling business in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic: Cemex is considering selling its subsidiary Cemex Dominicana according to Bloomberg. The Mexico-based group is reportedly working with JPMorgan Chase & Co on a potential divestment worth over US$1bn. Proceedings are at an early stage, with Cemex starting to talk to interested parties to assess potential interest.
Cemex has been operating in the Dominican Republic since 1995 when it acquired Cementos Nacionales. It runs the integrated 2.4Mt/yr San Pedro de Macorís cement plant. It also has ten concrete plants, three sea terminals, two aggregate quarries and a gypsum mine. It employs 1500 people directly. Cemex sold its subsidiaries in Costa Rica and El Salvador to Cementos Progreso for US$329m in 2022.


