14 October 2015
Canada: The Lafarge Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia, Canada, is celebrating its 50th anniversary of operations in 2015.
In 1957, the Canada Cement Company sent a team of engineers and land surveyors to Nova Scotia, Canada to search for a limestone deposit suitable for the construction of a cement plant. Out of 27 potential sites, Brookfield received the nod of approval. The company proceeded over the next few years to build a US$25m state-of-the-art cement plant. Production began on 29 September 1965.
While the raw materials mixture and fuels used for production have changed in the past five decades, the overall method of manufacturing remains the same, according to Plant Manager ScarthMacDonnell. "In some ways the plant has not changed a bit since it opened up. The fundamental process of cement manufacturing has not changed. The products we make, the fuels we use and the environmental footprint has completely transformed. So the cements we make today make 25% less carbon dioxide then they did when the plant started up," said MacDonnell. He added that more than 20% of the energy used for cement production comes from recycled materials.
More than 1000 individuals have earned a living working at Lafarge over the past 50 years while continuously producing cement that has been used in countless projects, big and small. By far the biggest showcase project the plant has been involved with was providing all the cement used in the construction of the Confederation Bridge, between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. "It was a very special recipe," said MacDonnell, of the 250,000t of cement used for the project. "It was a specialised, high-performance cement that was required for the job and it was a different product than was normally made."
Despite 50 years of mining, the reserves in the limestone deposit discovered back in 1957 are far from being depleted. "We've got well over 25 years of stone still on the property," said MacDonnell. "And there's more there if we want to go get it."
Schwenk Zement brings 100t crawler excavator into operation 14 October 2015
Germany: Schwenk Zement KG has recently brought into operation two new Liebherr R 980 SME crawler excavators at its limestone quarry in Heidenheim an der Brenz. The quarry is adjacent to Schwenk Zement's cement plant.
The SME crawler excavators from Liebherr are particularly suitable for deployment in excavation and are tailored to the tough operating conditions associated with quarrying. SME stands for 'Super Mass Excavation.' A bonus feature is that the excavator is equipped with a reinforced undercarriage, on which the running gear components of the next larger model from the standard programme, namely the R 9100 mining excavator, can be installed. In conjunction with a heavy ballast weight, this undercarriage improves the stability of the machine and, at the same time, enables the use of a backhoe with greater capacity. The equipment, such as the stick and backhoe cylinders, has been adapted to the higher tearing and breaking out forces with a larger diameter and matching kinematics.
At Schwenk Zement KG, the Liebherr R 980 SME crawler excavators are deployed together with a wheel loader directly at the quarry wall. Material is always excavated using two of the three machines. While the wheel loader is more flexible and mobile, the crawler excavator is suitable for sorting the stone and, at the same time, offers higher tearing and breaking out forces. "We used to work with three wheel loaders in production. With the two Liebherr crawler excavators, we have now found the ideal solution as we have a greater output and productivity and maintain flexibility thanks to the wheel loader," said Wolfgang Kuhnt, Quarry Manager. Since the two crawler excavators have been in operation, the number of detonations for stone excavation has dropped. The bed and material can be collected and processed in a dryer state and the loss of raw material at Schwenk Zement KG can be reduced.
The Liebherr crawler excavators achieve an average material handling performance of 350t/hr and ensure optimum supply of the crushing plant, which is restricted to a capacity of 700t/hr. "The crawler excavators are capable of dealing with 500t/hr as well, however, which equates to 1000t/hr when two are in operation," said Kuhnt. Material transport is then carried out by rigid frame dump trucks with a payload of 65t.
India: Overseas investments or the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies more than halved to US$1.24bn in September 2015, according to media reports. This compared to US$3.12bn in September 2014. In August 2015, the outward foreign direct investment by Indian companies stood at US$2.19bn.
Out of the total US$1.24bn invested abroad, some US$137m was invested in equity, US$366m through loans and US$738m in the form of issue of guarantee. Major investors overseas during the month included Ultratech Cement in the Middle East (US$234m), Tata Power in Singapore (US$90m) and Tata Communications in Singapore (US$67.9m).