Kazakhstan: Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer says that it has secured a contract for the supply of an MVR 5000 C-4 vertical grinding mill to SemeyCement’s 1Mt/yr integrated Semey cement plant in East Kazakhstan. Gebr. Pfeiffer says that the 200t/hr capacity mill will have a drive power of 4000kW and be equipped with an SLS 4500 BC classifier. Delivery of the vertical roller mill is scheduled for autumn 2021.

US: Cemtech Materials will produce cement using bauxite residue supplied under a new contract signed with New Day Aluminium Holdings subsidiary Noranda Alumina. Noranda Alumina has executed a letter of intent with Cemtech to sell it 60,000t of bauxite residue starting in the fourth quarter of 2020. The bauxite will be used in the cement production process as the raw material for iron, replacing other current iron bearing raw materials.

Noranda Alumina chair and chief executive officer (CEO) David D’Addario said, “We are focused on continuously improving the sustainability of our business and reducing our environmental footprint on our path to a zero residue refinery, and look forward to helping our partners in the cement industry to achieve their aligned goals.”

The deal follows a beneficial use approval from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Noranda Alumina is located in Gramercy, Louisiana. It produces smelter grade alumina for the production of aluminium and chemical grade alumina for non-metallurgical applications.

US: Solidia Technologies and France-based Chryso have announced a collaborative partnership for the further development of the Solidia ‘ultra-low’ CO₂ concrete product. The companies plan to use their “combined expertise to improve the sustainability performance and material properties” of the concrete.

“Incorporating Chryso’s exclusive water-reducing admixtures adapted to the specific chemistry of Solidia Concrete, will further reduce water consumption in the curing process,” said Tom Schuler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Solidia Technologies.

UK: David Jarvis, a long-time friend of Global Cement Magazine, has published a memoir of his life travelling the world, working on refractory projects starting in the 1960s and for the next four decades. His book, ‘Jazzo’s Journeys’ includes hundreds of anecdotes from more than a hundred countries around the world, many of which will raise a smile. The book is now available here.

India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) power plant at its 3.7Mt/yr Jayanthipuram, Andhra Pradesh cement plant. Chief executive officer (CEO) Av Dharmakrishnan said, “Besides savings in power cost, the installation of WHR systems in our plants will also reduce CO₂ emissions substantially, which will have a positive impact on the environment.”

BusinessLine Online News has reported that Ramco Cements is currently building a 12MW WHR power plant at its upcoming Kolumigundla, Andhra Pradesh cement plant. When the plant becomes operational it, will bring the company’s total WHR power generation capacity to 39MW.

Ethiopia: The Ministry of Trade and Industry says that it is granting licences for the import of 16Mt over the financial year ending 7 July 2021, the 2021 financial year. The Ethiopian Press Agency has reported that the cause of the measure is a cement shortage resulting in inflated prices. The order requires importers to import a minimum of 3000t of cement, and to begin importing before 8 December 2020.

Director of communication affairs Wondimu Flate said, “The directive was prepared in order to enable cement factories to produce at their full potential and to connect those engaged in the sector from the manufacturer and importer to the retail business, with supply and distribution being monitored and used.”

Pakistan: The government of the Punjab has constituted a supervisory committee to present recommendations for easing the ‘complicated and lengthy’ processes surrounding the granting of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in order for the establishment of cement plants. The News International has reported that Chief Minister Sardar Buzdar said, “Investors will be provided every facility and actions will be initiated against the officials concerned for any unnecessary delay.”

Zambia: Dangote Cement Zambia says that it has no source of reasonably priced gypsum following the closure of Chambeshi Minerals. The Mast newspaper has reported that other local suppliers are quoting prices for the raw material in US dollars because of currency devaluation due to the weak economic situation following a coronavirus-related lockdown.

The immediate effect of the supply chain disruption has been a rise in cement prices. Copperbelt Provincial Minister Japhen Mwakalombe said, “For us to develop, we need infrastructure development. We can’t build without cement and our people can’t afford these prices. Quoting in dollars shows that gypsum dealers want to sabotage the economy and we need the law to address this. It shows that some companies are not patriotic and do not want to support the government of the day.”

UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it will consider the undertakings offered by Breedon Group to which its deal with Cemex UK for acquisition of several of the latter’s ready-mix and aggregates operations would be subject. The regulator explained its ruling by saying, “There are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings might be accepted by the CMA under the Enterprise Act 2002.” This may lead to the completion of the acquisitions, which were agreed on 21 January 2020.

Mexico: Cemex has launched Operation Resilience, its 2020 medium-term strategy. The plan consists of strategic divestments, US$280m in cost reduction and optimisation of the company’s portfolio towards European and US markets.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando Gonzalez said, “Operation Resilience lays the foundation for our future. It allows Cemex to optimise its portfolio for profitable growth while securing its position as a leading vertically-integrated heavy building materials company with a focus on four core businesses: cement, ready-mix, aggregates and urbanisation solutions. We will concentrate on developing sustainable urbanisation solutions which meet the needs of growing metropolises while we ourselves progress towards achieving our long-term decarbonisation goals.”