10 April 2014
Ravena cement plant rebuild to launch amidst merger 10 April 2014
US: The rebuilding of Lafarge's Ravena cement plant will move ahead days after the announcement of the Lafarge-Holcim merger. Construction will begin on 11 April 2014.
"We are moving forward with our current plans on the Ravena plant modernisation," said Lafarge US communications director Joelle Lipski-Rockwood. The rebuilding is part of a December 2010 settlement with state and federal officials to dramatically reduce emissions of NOx and SO2 at Lafarge's plants in the state of New York.
Two kilns that date from the 1950s will be replaced by a modern kiln with advanced pollution controls. Pollution at the Ravena plant, which sits across from the local high school, has concerned many local residents for many years. The new plant, which is expected to be running by mid-2017, will emit no more than 26.8kg/yr of mercury. In 2012 the plant emitted 63.5kg of mercury and in 2011 it emitted 64.9kg.
The project was initially due to be completed by the end of 2015, but in 2013 Lafarge received an extension from the state Department of Environmental Conservation in exchange for greater pollution cuts. As part of the emissions agreement, Lafarge also would have spent US$2m to retrain workers if plans to rebuild the plant were shelved and the plant was closed.
New white cement plant opens in Jizzakh Province 10 April 2014
Uzbekistan: A new cement plant has been commissioned in the Zafarabad district of Jizzakh Province. Operating within the Almalyk Mining and Metal Plant open joint stock company, the enterprise is projected to produce 350,000t/yr of white cement and 760,000t/yr of Portland cement. 70% of the white cement produced is intended for export.
A 1400m railway is laid in the territory of the enterprise and 10 trucks, two excavators and other modern machinery has been procured. All of the production processes are automated.
The availability of major deposits of limestone has served as the basis for the plant construction. Gypsum is brought in from the Bukhara region, quartz is transported from Navoi region, kaolin and iron-containing additives are procured from the Tashkent region and loess is mined in Jizzakh Province.
India: Switzerland-based Holcim, the parent company of ACC and Ambuja Cements, will continue to retain its separate brands in India after its merger with Lafarge.
The management of ACC announced that there would be no impact to the existing brands post-merger. "The merger will be beneficial for the Indian cement industry and is expected to bring positive changes for the company," said the chairman of ACC, N S Sekhsaria. "ACC brand will remain intact after the merger of Holcim and Lafarge."
The merger is expected to take up to 18 months and Holcim's future plans in India will be known only after the merger is completed. Sekhsaria added that while the brands will be retained, there may be some rationalisation of operations.
UK: UK-based Anglo American plc said that it has completed the sale of its building products unit, Tarmac Building Products Ltd (TBP), to Lafarge Tarmac, without providing financial details.
Lafarge Tarmac is a 50/50 joint venture between Lafarge and Anglo American, formed through the merger of Lafarge's business in the UK and the local construction materials and services businesses of Anglo American.