Displaying items by tag: Government
India: Odisha’s State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) has approved a proposal by Ambuja Cements to build a 1.5M/yr cement grinding plant at the Industrial Growth Centre, Jharsuguda. The proposed unit will use an area of 125 acres, according to the Press Trust of India. It is expected to create 300 direct and indirect jobs. Once complete the plant will join the company’s five integrated cement plants and eight grinding plants.
Bolivia: Cement producers have called for a ban of cement imported from Peru. The producers met and then asked government for the measure in order to protect the local industry, according to the El Mundo newspaper. They have also suggested that import tariffs be raised at the very least as well as other measures.
HeidelbergCement and Aachen University of Applied Sciences start study into binding CO2 in olivine and basalt
29 June 2017Germany: HeidelbergCement and Aachen University of Applied Sciences (RWTH Aachen) have started a three-year research project ‘CO2MIN’ that started on 1 June 2017 examining the absorption of CO2 from flue gas by olivine and basalt. The intention is that the carbonised minerals could be used as a value-added additive in the production of building materials. HeidelbergCement and RWTH are supported by the Potsdam Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the Dutch start-up Green Minerals. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the project with Euro3m.
"We are already reducing the CO2 emissions of our plants very successfully by using alternative fuels and raw materials and by optimising the efficiency of our kilns," said Jan Theulen, Director of Alternative Resources at HeidelbergCement. He added that binding CO2 in minerals was one approach the company was exploring to reduce its emissions further.
In the first year the research project will focus on the investigation of different minerals in small-scale experiments. The carbonation of the most suitable minerals will then be tested under process conditions in the second year. The experiments will be conducted by the institute of Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling (IME), which is the coordinator of the RWTH group. Life-cycle assessments (RWTH) as well as analyses of economic aspects and social acceptance (IASS) complete this project phase. In the third year, marketability and acceptance will be further optimised through intensive cooperation with customers.
India: The Tamil Nadu state Industries Minister M C Sampath says that the Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation (Tancem) upgrade project is 60% complete at its Ariyalur cement plant. The US$116m upgrade at the government-owned plant is being undertaken by Larsen & Toubro with FLSmidth, according to the Press Trust of India. US$24m has been spent on the project so far. Construction is expected to be completed in 2018 and the upgrade will increase the plant’s production capacity to 1.5Mt/yr from 0.5Mt/yr.
Ethiopia: Dangote Cement has threatened to stop its operations at its Mugher cement plant in Oromia if the local government doesn’t cancel an order forcing the cement producer to give control of some of its business to local young people. Oromia state's East Shewa Zone administration has asked the Nigerian cement company to allow cooperatives of unemployed young adults to run part of its mining businesses or face ‘any problems’ that may arise, according to the Star newspaper. The state scheme is intended to reduce youth unemployment and to relax local social tensions following riots in 2016. Dangote Cement was one of several businesses that were attacked in the unrest.
However, Dangote Cement’s executive director Edwin Devakumar warned that any ‘mismanagement’ of its mining business could undermine its entire business. The cement producer intends to write to the federal government to ask for intervention otherwise it will consider shutting its Mugher plant as a last resort.
State government to reopen Bheema Cements
22 June 2017India: The state government of Telangana plans to help reopen the 0.9Mt/yr Bheema Cements plant at Bhavya. Following the recommendations of a committee the government intends to revive the plant subject to certain conditions and payments, according to the Press Trust of India. The plant was closed due to financial losses in 2014. Mining leases allocated to the plant have also expired.
Germany: SKF has inaugurated its new Sven Wingquist Test Centre in Schweinfurt. The unit had an investment of Euro40m. SKF says that the centre is the first in the world that is able to test large-size bearings under actual operating conditions.
The Sven Wingquist Test Centre has two testing rigs. One rig will be used for testing bearings used in other industrial sectors, including mining, construction, steel manufacturing and marine transport. The other is designed for the testing of wind turbine main shaft arrangements. Combined with SKF’s diagnostics, condition monitoring and simulation methods, these rigs are intended to help reduce testing and product development lead-times and provide more information into bearing performance.
The test centre has received funding from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Media, Energy and Technology and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction and Reactor Safety.
Government to reduce Taiwan’s cement export cap
20 June 2017Taiwan: Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fuu says the government plans to lower the cap on cement exports from over 20% of total output to 15% on environmental grounds. The ministry is also preparing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) policy for the development of the cement industry, according to the Central News Agency. The policy is scheduled to be completed by June 2018 and be submitted to the Environmental Protection Administration. The decision follows public outcry over the alleged expansion of the quarry at Asia Cement’s Hualien plant, which is partly located in a national park.
According to ministry data, Taiwan's cement exports reached 51% of total output in 2009 and 36%, 24%, 24% and 27% from 2013 to 2016 respectively. The ratio was at 25% in the first four months of 2017. Once an amendment to the Mining Act and environmental assessment regulations come into effect, many cement mining projects are expected to be affected. The ministry also intends to find alterative sources for the cement industry’s demand for raw materials.
UAE: Salem Al Shehi, a member of the Federal National Council, has called for stricter measures to mitigate emissions from cement plants and other industrial production units. The representative from Ras Al Khaimah has suggested that these sites be fitted with filters and be constantly monitored, according to the Gulf News newspaper. He cited the concerns of residents living close to industrial sites in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Ghail, Naseem, Suhaila and Al Manama.
Local legislation requires that dust-control techniques must be introduced in all quarries and mines, and owners of these sites are obliged to install air-monitoring stations linked to a control centre based at the RAK Environment Protection Authority’s headquarters. Despite this the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment issued pollution warnings to five cement plants between 2014 and the end of May 2017. 55 quarries were also temporarily shut down for breaching health and safety regulations in the same period.
Vietnam: The government has approved development planning to start for an inland port for the Siam City Cement Vietnam Thi Vai cement grinding plant. The proposed site will be adjacent to the Thị Vải River, according to the Vietnam Investment Review magazine. The port is expect to be able to support barges with a capacity of up to 5000t. The plant was acquired by Thailand’s Siam City Cement in March 2017 when it purchased Holcim Vietnam from LafargeHolcim.