24 September 2014
Lafarge to open 4000t cement silo in the Seychelles 24 September 2014
Seychelles: Lafarge is constructing a 4000t cement silo in the Seychelles in partnership with the Sri Lankan engineering company Dynamic Technologies. The silo will be built in Sri Lanka and shipped to the Seychelles. Lafarge and Dynamic Technologies developed a similar facility in Mayotte, an overseas department of France, earlier in 2014.
Spanish watchdog inspects cement companies over cartel suspicions 24 September 2014
Spain: The Spanish competition watchdog CNMC has carried out inspections at the headquarters of companies that produce cement, concrete and their derivatives.
The cause for the inspections, which were conducted on 16 - 18 September 2014, was suspicions of anticompetitive practices, including division of markets and price fixing agreements. Should suspicions be confirmed, the regulator will initiate disciplinary proceedings on the basis of 'very serious' misconduct, which could result in fines amounting to 10% of the companies' revenue.
JSW Cement plans 4.3Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Karnataka 24 September 2014
India: JSW Cement is considering the construction of a 4.3Mt/yr cement plant in Gulbarga, Karnataka. The company is optimistic about demand revival in the south of India, as economic activity picks up in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to SS Sandhu, associate vice president of JSW Cement.
At present, JSW Cement has 6.4Mt/yr of cement production capacity in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Sandhu said that the company already has land in Gulbarga and the region is rich in limestone. Another advantage is that supplies could be made from Gulbarga to cement markets in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Since the group company, JSW Steel, produces slag, JSW Cement could manufacture slag cement.
When asked about the economic slow-down, Sandhu conceded that there has been a contraction in construction activity in the south of the country, but that stability has now returned. A lot of projects are expected to come up in the near future in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including ones at the new Andhra Pradesh capital that is planned at Vijayawada. The company expects that a pick-up in demand will drive its capacity utilisation to 75% by the end of the current fiscal year from 55 – 60% at present.
Iran-built cement plant begins production in Caracas 24 September 2014
Venezuela: Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO) has announced that Venezuela's Iranian-built 1Mt/yr capacity cement plant has started pilot production. IMIDRO, via its subsidiary company Ehdas Sanat Company, began the implementation of the project eight months ago. It is expected to go on stream shortly.
New LC3 cement mixture developed 24 September 2014
India: Swiss, Indian and Cuban researchers have come together to develop limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), which can help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of cement by almost 30%.
"The LC3 project is an example of scientific and technical collaboration between Switzerland and India. The innovative cement production process on which these institutions are working is of great economic and environmental significance," said Switzerland Ambassador to India Linus von Castelmur.
The LC3 is a synergetic hydration of clinker, calcined clay and crushed limestone to achieve the performance required from commercial cements, with clinker factors as low as 0.40. It also costs less than traditional types of cement.
"The testing and application phase is over, now it has to pass through standardisation committee before it is accepted by the industries. The research that has been done will not be patent protected but available to everyone," said Castelmur.
Sabancı plans bid for LafargeHolcim divestments 24 September 2014
Turkey: Turkish conglomerate Sabancı Holding plans to bid for some of the assets that cement makers Lafarge and Holcim must sell to steer their mega-merger past competition watchdogs, according to Reuters.
"Sabancı Cement Group is interested in these sales. Preparations are being made to make a bid in December 2014. Before the bid, preliminary information has been obtained on the assets so it can be assessed," said a source quoted by Reuters.