Guinea: Mamady Touré, the adminstrative and finance director of Ciments de l’Afrique (CIMAF) Guinea, says that the company plans to triple the production of its Dubréka grinding plant to 1.5Mt/yr. The announcement was made as part of a lunch for customers, according to Guinée News.

Australia: Wagners expects that its on-going suspension of cement products to Boral will cost it around US$7m in 2019. The company decided to stop the supply following Boral’s notification that it had found a cheaper source in March 2019. Since neither Wagners nor Boral have been able to resolve the disagreement it has now been referred to the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Russia: Eurocement has resumed the packaging line at its Oskolcement plant. It sells products in 50kg bags. The packaging line uses equipment from Germany’s Haver & Boecker and Beumer.

France: Cemex says that it will match the donations made by its employees to help restore the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. The donations will be handled by the Fondation du patrimoine (French Heritage Foundation), a private organisation dedicated to saving French cultural and natural heritage. The 800-year old cathedral was devastated by fire on 15 April 2019.

In addition, Cemex will help the reconstruction efforts through its range of technical and specialised products and services, the availability of its research and development centres based in Biel and Paris and assistance with material specifications and mix designs through its laboratory services.

Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria’s (CCNN) profit rose in 2018 following its merger with Kalambaina Cement. Its profit after tax grew by 77% year-on-year to US$15.9m in 2018 from US$8.9m in 2017, according to the Punch newspaper. It produced 0.76Mt of cement in 2018 and it sold 0.74Mt. The company is planning to expand its production distribution in north-east and north-central regions as it does not expect the north-west to absorb its enlarged production capacity of 2Mt/yr.

Nigeria: BUA Group has ordered a 48MW power plant from Finland’s Wärtsilä for a new production line at its Sokoto cement plant. The power plant will operate without connection to an electricity grid and it will operate on five Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines, running primarily on liquified natural gas (LNG) but with the capability to switch to low pour fuel oil (LPFO) if necessary. The site’s two existing power plants operate on heavy fuel oil (HFO).

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2019, and the new plant is expected to become operational in mid-2020. No price for the order has been disclosed.

Nigeria: David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi state, has approved plans to set-up the Ebonyi Cement plant (Ebocem) at Ogboto in Ishielu. The local government will hold a 10% stake in the project, according to the Nigerian Tribune newspaper.

Armenia: Tigran Khachatryan, the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, says that the government is considering adding clinker to a list of goods subject to import duties. A tariff of around Euro40/t could be introduced for a year until April 2020, according to the ARMINFO News Agency. This would be similar to proposed duties on imported cement.

The measures are intended to protect local cement production. Khachatryan noted that imports from Iran could be up to a third of the price of locally manufactured cement due to cheaper energy supplies and state subsidies.

US: Eagle Materials are started a strategic review of its portfolio of businesses including heavy materials, light materials, and oil and gas proppants. It says it commissioned the review, “…following consultation and input from the company's largest shareholders.” During the process it will consider options, including divesting businesses.

US: Lehigh Cement and Argos USA have agreed to pay a US$1.5m fine for alleged Clean Air Act violations at the Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia. Argos has owned the plant since December 2016 and Lehigh Cement was the previous owner. The violations occurred from 2013 to 2016. Neither Lehigh Cement nor Argos USA admitted liability for the alleged violations as part of the settlement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited the companies for various Clean Air Act violations based on responses to EPA information requests and data collected and reported under the plant’s permit. These included exceeding particulate matter emissions, non-compliance with opacity testing, failing to comply with requirements for operating a kiln with dioxin/furan emission limits, failing to perform required stack testing on a kiln’s exhaust in a timely manner and other violations.