13 July 2022

Vietnam: High costs have resulted in the cancellation of four planned new integrated cement lines by a local cement producer. Viet Nam News has reported that the producer in question presently faces costs of US$59.9 - 64.1/t cement, with a net loss of US$8.55 - 10.30/t. Coal prices are US$237/t, more than triple those at the start of 2022 of US$85.5/t. Gypsum and diesel prices rose by 50% over the first half of 2022. The producer reportedly attributed the coal price rise to the effects of the Covid-19 conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement's first-half sales were US$41.4m in 2022, up by 18% year-on-year from first-half 2021 levels. Sales volumes were 837,000t, down by 0.4% year-on-year from 841,000t.

US: Silicate-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM) developer Terra CO₂ raised US$46m in its first funding round, it announced on 12 July 2022. Fast Company News has reported that climate innovation venture capital company Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round.

Terra CO₂'s SCM consists of silicate-containing igneous rocks and sediments, which are ground and heated to form glass spheres. The company says that these behave in a similar way to natural pozzolan and fly ash. Terra CO₂ says that its product offers a 70% CO₂ emissions reduction compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Sri Lanka: Insee Cement's Ruhunu cement plant in Galle has begun producing Portland composite cement (PCC) using slag and fly ash. Insee Cement first produced PPC at its Puttalam cement plant.

Insee Cement's head of products and solutions Moussa Baalbaki said "Insee Cement introduced PCC for the first time to the local market in 2021 as part of a two-pronged approach: to create value for our customers by augmenting the sustainability performance in their constructions, and also to steer Sri Lanka's construction industry towards ambitious, globally benchmarked sustainable goals." Baalbaki continued "We are truly encouraged by the growing demand across the local market for PCC, and trust our production expansion to Galle is testimony to our commitment towards sustainable production practices."

Pakistan: Cherat Cement and Lucky Cement are among three companies to have imported 10,000t of coal from Afghanistan in the two-month period up to 11 July 2022. Asian News International has reported the other company was Fauji Fertilizer Power Station.

The local coal price in Afghanistan was US$188/t on 11 July 2022.

Middle East: The UK-based chemical solutions Aubin Group developer and supplier has landed a two-year contract worth US $5m to make and supply additives to a Middle Eastern concrete well company. Under the deal, Aubin Group will supply the company with CFL-575, a high temperature fluid loss additive which it says is compatible with a wide range of cement types and for use in oil wells. CFL-575 sales volumes surpassed 170,000kg/yr.

Omar Raafat, Middle East North Africa general manager at Aubin Group, said “It’s a very agile product, and lots of clients are seeing success within a wide range of environments. We are now scaling up production of CFL-575 to meet this growing demand, and we are delighted to be conducting this locally at our manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi.”