Displaying items by tag: GCW669

Nepal: Exports of cement and clinker reached US$48bn in the 2024 financial year, tripling the figure from 2023, according to the Department of Customs. Exports of cement were US$23.5m, while clinker exports stood at US$22.5m.

This follows the government’s introduction of an 8% cash incentive for mine-based product exports and the identification of cement as a potential export item in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2023. Policy changes, including tariff waivers on significant electricity usage by manufacturers, also contributed to this growth.

Australia: Calix has been awarded a US$10m grant from the Australian government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program to build a commercial demonstration electric calciner for ‘near zero emissions’ lime and cement production. The grant covers up to 50% of the expenditure, contingent on meeting project milestones.

The project will utilise the Leilac technology to capture up to 20,000t/yr of CO₂ from the cement and lime manufacturing processes. The project will create two revenue streams via a ‘near zero emissions’ lime product, as well as up to 15,000t/yr of captured CO₂ being sold to the SM1 project for green methanol production.

In the second phase of the project, production will be expanded to include the processing of cement raw meal to a ‘near zero emissions’ clinker product, with captured CO₂ supplied for use.

India: Dalmia Bharat reported a net profit rise to US$17.3m for the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, up from US$17.2m crore in the same period in 2024. The company’s revenue from operations remained steady at US$433m. Cement sales volumes increased by 6% year-on-year to 7.4Mt, compared to 7Mt in 2023.

Managing director and CEO, Puneet Dalmia, said "During the quarter, even though cement demand was weak across regions amidst general elections, our volumes grew 6.2% year-on-year while margins improved to 18.5% from 16.9% in 2023."

Afghanistan: The Ghori Cement plant in Baghlan province plans to increase its production from 0.18Mt in 2023 to 0.2Mt in 2024 due to a growing demand for cement. Technical deputy of the factory, Sarbaz Banuzai, also revealed plans for a new cement plant capable of producing 1.3Mt/yr, which would stand adjacent to the current facility.

Factory workers voiced support for the expansion as a means to combat unemployment and boost local production.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has launched ECOPlanet Unicem, the country's first low-carbon multipurpose cement, from its Mfamosing plant in Cross River State. The new product is reportedly designed with over 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions. ECOPlanet will be available nationwide by the end of 2024.

Germany: Canada-based company Rock Tech has promoted a peer-reviewed study by the German Lithium Institute that confirms the potential of byproducts from lithium production to be used in cement manufacture. The study found that leached spodumene concentrate (LSC), primarily composed of aluminosilicates, can replace fly ash as an additive in the cement industry. The study also revealed that adding 20% LSC to Portland cement increases its compressive strength by 10%. The process for producing and utilising LSC has been submitted for a patent.

"The phase-out of coal and the transformation of the steel industry will sooner or later lead to changed or disappearing material streams that have been significant for the cement industry in terms of CO₂ savings and product portfolio. The LSC from lithium production has the potential to compensate for these depleting material streams in the future."

Cameroon: Cimpor has inaugurated its new plant in Kribi, Cameroon. Following investments in Côte d'Ivoire, Cimpor embarked on this greenfield project in February 2020, integrating the ‘world's first’ operational flash calcined clay production line, launched on 29 October 2023.

Cimpor Cameroun now has an output of 1.2Mt/yr of cement and 0.4Mt/yr of calcined clay. Cimpor's calcined clay production technology - ‘deOHclay’ – reportedly saves up to 80% in CO₂ emissions, up to 35% in electricity consumption and up to 40% in thermal energy consumption per tonne. Compared to a plant with a similar capacity, this technology could reduce CO₂ emissions by around 0.2Mt/yr, according to the company. The new plant will reduce the country’s dependence on imports to meet local cement needs.

Chad: The Group Cement of Africa (CIMAF) plans to raise the production capacity of its Chad cement plant from 0.5Mt/yr to 0.7Mt/yr. Anas Sefrioui, President of CIMAF, conveyed this intention to Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, with the intention to meet market demands, reduce costs and create jobs. Sefrioui also announced that the official price of cement bags from the plant will be revised to alleviate public costs. The CIMAF cement plant in Lamadji, north of N'Djamena, commenced operations in June 2017.

India: UltraTech Cement reported a flat net profit for the three month period ending 30 June 2024 of US$203m, compared to US$202m in the same period in 2023. The company's income rose by 2% to US$2.18bn, while domestic sales volumes grew 7% year-on-year to 32Mt, despite a 9% decline from the previous quarter. EBITDA slightly declined to US$383m from US$384m.

Nigeria: The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives is investigating the sharp rise in cement prices in the country. Major industry players, including Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa, must submit detailed production cost documents to justify the market price of cement. The committee plans to visit the production plants after reviewing these financial records to establish the cost of production and determine a fair price for cement. The inquiry covers production costs from 2020 to July 2024.

One committee member pointed out that Dangote Cement has continued to make significant profits despite sourcing most of its raw materials locally, and questioned why the price of cement keeps rising whilst producers continue to profit. In response, Dangote Cement’s Managing Director, Mr Arvind Pathack, attributed 95% of production costs to imports or foreign exchange impacts, noting significant increases in input costs and logistical challenges exacerbated by the poor state of infrastructure and foreign exchange limitations. The committee called for a review of company policies to potentially lower prices, criticising the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCC)’s inactivity in addressing the pricing issue.

Chair of the Committee, Jonathan Gaza, said “We are extremely hopeful that this engagement will lead to a reduction in the price of cement. FCCPC has slept on their functions so far; their inactivity and unresponsiveness to price is what has put Nigeria where we are today.”