Mexico: Holcim México will invest US$55m in the construction of a new cement mill at its Macuspana plant in Tabasco state. The producer says that the mill will increase the plant's cement capacity by 50% to 1.5Mt/yr. This will lead to an increase in the plant’s total workforce to 300 people.

General director Jaime Hill said "This investment in Tabasco reflects our firm conviction in the potential of the Mexican southeast and our commitment to the sustainable development of the region. Through this expansion, we will not only increase our capacity to supply the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, but also reinforce our role in the decarbonisation of the construction industry, offering low-emission products like our cements from the ECOPlanet range."

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has acquired an 85% stake in Agrani Cement. The value of the deal is US$39.2m. Agrani Cement was established in Kolkata, West Bengal in 2022.

India: Protestors from Bilaspur District have opposed the transfer of water from the Ali Khad stream to Ambuja Cements’ Darlaghat cement plant in neighbouring Solan District. A group of local farmers and village officials have successfully suspended water transfer to the plant from the stream at Trivenighat. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the Darlaghat plant will draw an estimated 1Ml/day of water from the Ali Khad stream. Protestors say that this would be enough to dry the stream, turning the area in Himachal Pradesh into a ‘desert.’ The Ali Khad stream currently waters 24 wells and seven irrigation networks, upon which 50,000 people depend.

Colombia: Cementos Argos has partnered with Ecopetrol, EAFIT and the University of Antioquia to develop a method of carbon capture using microalgae that also produces useable biomass. The partners will process this biomass into biocrude, with similar properties to fuel oil.

Cementos Argos’ project leader Gabriel Vargas said, “In microalgae we found a potential alternative, but this involved developing a technology for microorganisms to eat CO₂ and grow from there. Then, looking for what we could use that biological material for, we saw an opportunity in biofuels. That's when, with the help of the PQI research group at the University of Antioquia, which had already been carrying out studies on the hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass, we began to refine that process.”

Mali: Morocco-based Ciments de l'Afrique (CIMAF) has held a ceremony marking the laying of the first stone of a new 1Mt/yr cement plant it is building at Natien in Sikasso region. The project has a budget of around US$50m and is intended to be expandable to 2Mt/yr should the market need arise, according to La Nouvelle Tribune newspaper. Cement produced at the plant will be sold domestically and exported. Commissioning is scheduled for early 2026. Moussa Alassane Diallo, Minister of Industry and Commerce, attended the event in addition to members of the National Transition Council, the governor of Sikasso region and, Malick Sefrioui, the Vice President of CIMAF.

Italy: Cementir's full-year 2023 results show sales of Euro1.69bn, down by 1.7% year-on-year from full-year 2022 levels. Nonetheless, the company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 23% to Euro411m. The company more than doubled its net cash position to Euro218m. Under its Plan 2024 – 2026, Cementir aims to raise its sales by 18% to Euro2bn, its EBITDA by 3.4% to Euro425m and to more than double its net cash position again to Euro600m in two years.

Chair and chief executive officer Francesco Caltagirone said "Despite an increasingly uncertain macroeconomic scenario due to growing geopolitical tensions and more restrictive monetary conditions, in 2023 the group demonstrated significant resilience, setting new records thanks to an even more diversified geographical and product mix. The general weakness in volumes, with the exception of Türkiye and China, was balanced by the improvement in operational efficiency. The new industrial plan to 2026 continues to place sustainable organic growth at the centre of our strategy, confirming all medium and long-term objectives and continuing on our path towards decarbonisation."

US: CRH has completed its acquisition of a portfolio of cement and ready-mix concrete assets from Martin Marietta Materials for US$2.1bn. The portfolio includes the 2.1Mt/yr Hunter cement plant in Comal County, Texas.

Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement Company has blamed a drop in sales in 2023 on a decrease in local demand. Its sales revenue declined by 7.2% year-on-year to US$250m in 2023 from US$268m in 2022. Meanwhile, the company’s net profit dropped by 14% to US$81.1m from US$94.9m.

Chile: Freehill Mining has won a US$181,000 order to supply raw materials to Cementos Melón's Coquimbo cement plant. Despatches, from the Yerbas Buenas metals mine, will take place in mid-March to mid-May 2024. Freehill Mining said that its local subsidiary is already in talks with Cementos Melón over a possible longer-term supply contract. Freehill Mining says that it processes the materials at a plant at its Yerbas Buenas site.

Freehill Mining’s non-executive chair Ben Jarvis said “This purchase order with Melón marks the first step of a major scale-up of activities at Yerbas Buenas. For the past six months, our focus has been to establish confidence with our customers so they regard Freehill as a dependable supplier. Now that we have achieved this, we are ramping up supply and thus increasing revenue. Whilst the value of this purchase order is pleasing, we are confident that much larger orders will materialise very soon.” He added “We anticipate having our larger plant operational at Yerbas Buenas by the end of this month.”

India: Tamil Nadu Cements plans to expand its limestone mining operations at the Pudupalayam quarry in Tamil Nadu. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that local residents have protested against the planned expansion. Some local landowners claim that Tamil Nadu Cements did not pay them for the 121 hectares of land it originally acquired in Pudupalayam.