Global Cement News

Senegal: SOCOCIM Industries, a subsidiary of France-based Vicat, has reportedly stopped producing cement at its integrated plant at Rufisque. The move has been blamed on the high price of coal and other raw materials, according to local media. In August 2022 Dangote Cement placed all of the staff from its integrated plant at Thiés on leave for the month. The government previously set a so-called ceiling price of cement in 2019 in responses to high prices.

UK: US-based Mississippi Lime Company (MLC) has completed its acquisition of Singleton Birch, a supplier of lime products. The move is part of MLC’s strategy to expand both geographically and with new products and technologies. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

Singleton Birch is based in North Lincolnshire, where it employs more than 150 staff. It will continue to operate under its existing brand and the management team, led by chief executive officer Richard Stansfield, who will remain in place. Singleton Birch has a number of business lines, including a chemicals division, which provides specialty calcium products to the rubber and plastics markets. It also provides services and solutions to the renewable energy, water treatment and waste management industries.

US: Total US cement shipments grew by 4% to 52.4Mt in the first half of 2022 from 50.4Mt in the same period in 2021. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that local shipments and imports rose by 3.5% to 44.1Mt and 7% to 8.31Mt respectively. The largest sources of imports of cement and clinker were Turkey at 4.57Mt, Canada at 2.19Mt, Mexico at 1.28Mt, Greece at 1.23Mt and Vietnam at 0.94Mt. The largest cement producing states in the reporting period, in descending order, were Texas, California and Missouri.

Dominican Republic: The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, has inaugurated the kiln of a restarted production line at the San Pedro de Macorís cement plant. The US$34m upgrade project was started in 2021. The line has a clinker production capacity of 0.5Mt/yr and it has been restarted to support the local market. The announcement follows the start of a project to use hydrogen at the unit that began in late August 2022. The plant also plans to increase its use of alternative fuels, move to using more CO₂-free materials and increase its use of additives over the next five years.

Honduras: Argos Honduras is set to start a new hydrogen injection process at its integrated Piedras Azules cement plant. During the process, water molecules are split using electricity into hydrogen and oxygen and then injected into the kiln through the main burner. The main objective of this technology is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, CO₂ emissions levels and energy consumption at the plant.

Luis Eduardo Tovar, the manager of Argos Honduras, said “We are proud to be committed to innovation and new technologies that allow us to keep our operation at the forefront of the industry. This project has allowed us to reduce our C0₂ emissions and optimise our processes to become increasingly efficient."

A pilot was previously conducted in conjunction with Portugal-based UTIS. It showed that by using the technology the plant could increase its clinker production and reduce petcoke consumption.