Displaying items by tag: GCW320

India: The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) says that the local cement industry has 100Mt/yr of excess production capacity out of a total 425Mt/yr. The sector is sitting on over US$9.4bn of ‘sunk investment in surplus capacities’ but the CMA expects infrastructure schemes including railway projects to increase demand, according to the Press Trust of India. CMA President Shailendra Chouksey added that initiatives such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train could raise cement consumption by 3 – 5Mt/yr.

In separate comments M P Rawal, the company administrator of JK Cements, confirmed the CMA’s assessment of the sector by saying that a slowdown in the construction industry in 2016 had led to a 70% utilisation rate of the country’s cement plants. He expected the same situation to persist in 2017. However, he warned that one bullet train project was unlikely to have a big impact on the situation.

India: JK Cement plans to invest up US$234m over the next 3- 4 years on an expansion project to increase its cement production capacity by over 30% to 14Mt/yr. Rajnish Kapur, the head of the company’s cement business, told the Press Trust of India that the cement producer is considering expanding existing plants and building new ones due to anticipated government infrastructure spending and a good monsoon. He said that it is in the process of evaluating expansion opportunities at its Mangrol plant in Rajasthan. It is also looking to build a new plant in Panna, Madhya Pradesh. It intends to finance the expansion through a mixture of internal funds and via loans.

India: Two workers have died in an accident at Ambuja Cement’s Bhatapara plant in Baloda Bazar Tehsil, Chhattisgarh. Five labourers were inside a crushing mill at the site making repairs when it suddenly started operating, according to the Press Trust of India. Two of the workers, identified as Dhirendra Verma and Dilip Kumar Verma, came in contact with the machine leaving them with critical injuries. They subsequently died in hospital. A police investigation is underway.

South Africa: PPC is seeking a higher offer from Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings that has made a bid to buy a stake in it. The cement producer said in a document to shareholders that it anticipated that Fairfax would make a higher bid given ‘the lower offer price on the table’. The Canadian financial company offered US$154m to buy a portion of PPC with the condition that it also merge with AfriSam. PPC also confirmed that it had received a non-binding communication from Nigeria’s Dangote Cement to buy it.

France: Intercem has won an order to supply Cem’In’Eu with a cement grinding plant. Intercem will supply a Ø 3.20m x 10.00m EGL closed circuit ball mill with a IVS 62 vertical air separator. The groundbreaking ceremony for the unit will be held in October 2017 and the start of production is scheduled for April 2018.

The first compartment of the mill will be equipped with lifting liners to aid coarse grinding. The second compartment will be equipped with a three-step classifying liner system to provide ball sorting with a fine grinding action. An intermediate diaphragm will allow the adjustment of material flow levels to optimise material level in both compartments. The mill will be powered by a 1300kW side drive. Product collection will be arranged by direct separation using a 70,000m³/hr air jet filter.

Intercem will be responsible for plant engineering and documentation, including mechanical, civil and electrical engineering, programming works and documentation, mechanical assembly works and their supervision as well as mechanical and process commissioning and the training for operators. No value for the order has been disclosed.

Cem’In’Eu is a new cement producer with projects planned for sites at Tonneins in Lot et Garonne, at Port Fluvial de Chalon-sur-Saône in Saône et Loire and at Port d’Ottmarsheim in Haut-Rhin. The company plans to invest around Euro20m at each site. It also has development projects in Poland and in the UK.

US: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering making changes to the regulations managing coal combustion residuals (CCR), or coal ash, as non-hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The agency has granted two petitions to look at the existing rules.

“In light of the EPA’s new statutory authority, it is important that we give the existing rule a hard look and consider improvements that may help states tailor their permit programs to the needs of their states, in a way that provides greater regulatory certainty, while also ensuring that human health and the environment remain protected,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The current regulations took effect in late 2015 and manage how coal ash generated from electric utilities and independent power producers is managed and disposed of in surface impoundments and landfills. The rule also defines what constitutes beneficial use of CCR and, therefore, is excluded from the rule’s requirements. Coal ash is used in a variety of industries including cement production.

Portugal: Cimpor’s sales rose by 2.6% to Euro921m in the first half of 2017 from Euro897m in the same period in 2016. Recovery in the Portuguese market buoyed its sales despite continued issues in Brazil, Egypt and Mozambique. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2.6% to Euro166m from Euro170m due to non-recurring costs. However, the cement producer said that, excluding these its earnings would have remained stable and would have even risen by 4% if CO2 permits management had been disregarded. Its cement sales volumes fell by 2.7% to 11.5Mt from 11.8Mt.

South Africa: Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has confirmed its interest in bidding for PPC. The company said that its board of directors had communicated to the board of PPC but that the dialogue was at a preliminary stage. The offer follows offers by Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings with AfriSam and other unnamed bids.

UK/Europe: Cemex’s South Ferriby cement plant is participating in the European Union (EU) supported enhanced energy and resource efficiency and performance in process industry operations via onsite and cross-sectorial symbiosis (EPOS) project. Designed to enable cross-sector industrial working, the project highlights case studies exemplifying ways for companies to use wastes from other industries to deliver greater efficiency, save raw materials, and contribute to more sustainable processes.

The South Ferriby plant has worked with other companies, including the INEOS chemical company, to determine how waste from INEOS’s production could be used as part of the cement manufacturing process. In addition Cemex Poland and Cemex Research Group in Switzerland will also represent Cemex in the project.

“It is a privilege for Cemex’s cement plant in South Ferriby to participate in this project, collaborating with other companies and partners across Europe. This helps to ensure that we operate our cement plant as efficiently as possible, while learning lessons that we can apply to our other facilities,” said Kevin Groombridge, South Ferriby Cement Plant Environment Manager.

Costa Rica: Mexico’s Cementos Fortaleza and fibre cement producer Plycem will inaugurate a new plant at Barranca de Puntaneras by the end of September 2017. The two companies are part of Elementia, according to the La Nación newspaper. No value for plant has been disclosed.