30 July 2018

China: Anhui Conch says it has resumed production at three production lines at the cement plant run by its Tongling Conch subsidiary at Gusheng in Anhui province. In late July 2018, Tongling Conch received a written notification from the Tongling Environmental Protection Bureau requesting the ‘immediate’ resumption of operation of Tongling Conch’s waste incineration and ancillary systems for treatment of domestic waste of Tongling City. The suspension of production at the cement plant followed the temporary closure of a pier used by the plant in late May 2018 in accordance with new government regulations on drinking water supply and pollution.

Uzbekistan: Almalyk Mining and Processing (AGMK) plans to open a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in the Sherabad district of the Surkhandarya region in late August 2018. Pilot production at the site started in July 2018, according to the Podrobno News Agency. The unit has an investment of US$213m. Turkey's Dal Teknik Makina worked on the project.

Namibia: Whale Rock Cement plans to commission its new plant near Otjiwarongo at the end of October 2018. The 1.2Mt/yr unit had an investment of US$350m, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Cement from the plant will be sold under the Cheetah brand. The project is a joint venture between China's Asia-Africa Business Management and local partners.

India: Shree Cement’s profit fell in the quarter that ended on 30 June 2018 due to higher power, fuel and logistic costs. Its profit dropped by 36% year-on-year to US$40.7m from US$64.1m in the same period in 2017. However, its income rose by 5.4% year-on-year to US$461m. During the reporting quarter the cement producer commissioned a cement grinding mill at its Kodla cement plant in Karnataka, it purchased a railway terminal at Hathbandh in Chhattisgarh and it acquired a majority stake in Union Cement in the UAE.

Trinidad: Trinidad Cement’s revenue rose by 4% year-on-year to US$132m in the first half of 2018 from US$127m in the same period in 2017. Its profit nearly tripled to US$7.57m.

Peru: UNACEM’s income rose by 8% year-on-year to US$295m in the first half of 2018 from US$272m in the same period in 2017. Its cement despatches fell slightly to 2.4Mt. The cement producer attributed the rising income to higher prices. However, its net profit fell by 48% to US$62.2m from US$119m due to less income from its subsidiaries.

Bangladesh: Hong Kong’s Shun Shing Group has ordered two mills from Germany’s Loesche for its local subsidiaries, Seven Circle Bangladesh (SCB) and Shun Shing Cement Mills (SSCM).

SCB has ordered a vertical roller mill for a new grinding plant in Gazipur. With four main and four support rollers, the mill will be used for grinding clinker and slag. It will have a throughput capacity of 400t/hr and it will be the largest Loesche cement mill in the country. The cement mill for SCB is equipped with a Compact Planetary Electric Drive (COPE) and has a drive power of 9.2MW.

Loesche has also received a mill order for SSCM. A LM 53.3+3 CS mill will be used, with three main and three support rollers and a drive power of 4650kW. The mill will grind clinker and slag at a capacity of 180t/hr in a newly-built grinding plant belonging to SSCM in Shikalbaha near Chittagong.

The scope of delivery for both mills includes the complete mill including the static mill components. Both mills will continue to be equipped with Pronamic wear parts, developed by for the main rollers, support rollers and the grinding table. It is anticipated that commissioning of both grinding plants will take place in autumn 2019.

Both SCBL and SSCM produce around 4.4Mt/yr of cement with their production facilities there under the brand ’Seven Rings Cement.’ Additionally, the business areas of the parent company Shun Shing Group also extend to the trade and transportation of raw materials and industrial chemicals for construction.

Poland: Fives FCB has released more information about an upgrade to a limestone grinding workshop for Lhoist Bukowa. In late May 2018 it signed an acceptance certificate with the lime producer for a FCB TSV Classifier 1400 HF. The classifier was selected to close a circuit consisting in a ball mill in open circuit. This FCB TSV Classifier 1400 HF is the third one ordered to Fives by Lhoist Bukowa.