Displaying items by tag: Grinding mill

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned its second cement grinding mill at the Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh, adding 1.8Mt/yr to its domestic production capacity. The first mill at the site began operations in March 2025.

The expansion raises UltraTech’s total grey cement capacity in India to 186.86Mt/yr and 192.26Mt/yr globally. The company said the move forms ‘part of its larger strategy.’

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has received and begun installing a new cement mill at its Salto de Pirapora plant near São Paulo as part of its US$878m national expansion programme.

The 210t mill took six months to arrive from China via ship, and was then transported by a truck convoy from the Port of Santos to the plant. The mill will increase the plant’s capacity by 1Mt/yr. The unit is part of the Salto-Santa Helena complex, which will see its capacity grow by 20% when the expansion completes in the second half of 2025. Construction began in the first half of 2024.

General manager Rafael Frederico said “We are celebrating a new phase in the expansion project of the Salto de Pirapora plant with the arrival of the mill and all the equipment for assembling the new mill. The operation to transport the equipment from China to our unit was complex and executed with great operational excellence by our multidisciplinary teams and partners.”

Denmark: Cementir Holding subsidiary Aalborg Portland Cement has awarded Christian Pfeiffer an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the installation of a QDK-T 250-Z high-efficiency separator for Cement Mills 8 and 9 at its Rørdal plant. The equipment will integrate both mills into a shared separator system, in order to increase their total capacity and facilitate the production of new cements. The upgrade also includes the installation of a single replacement bucket elevator, two air slides with integrated flow impact meters and a bag filter system. Commissioning is scheduled for 2026.

Christian Pfeiffer’s Product Line Manager Cement, Juan Camilo Vanegas Aguirre, said “This was the first EPC offer jointly prepared by our team in Chennai, and reaching this agreement after two years of collaboration is a real achievement.”

India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a 3.35Mt/yr brownfield clinker line and one of two 2.7Mt/yr cement mills at its Maihar unit in Madhya Pradesh. The second grinding mill will be commissioned in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year. The producer also commissioned brownfield expansions at its Dhule grinding unit in Maharashtra (1.2Mt/yr) and Durgapur grinding unit in West Bengal (0.6Mt/yr), and launched its first bulk terminal in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, with a handling capacity of 1.8Mt/yr.

“Consequent to the above, the company’s total domestic grey cement manufacturing capacity stands at 183.36Mt/yr. Along with its overseas capacity of 5.4Mt/yr, the company’s global capacity stands at 188.76Mt/yr,” UltraTech Cement said.

Iraq: Gebr. Pfeiffer has won an order to supply a vertical roller mill for the Al Amir cement plant in Najaf. The MVR 5000 R-4 raw mill with SLS 4500 VR classifier will grind 500t/hr of cement raw material from a fineness of 10% R to 0.090mm, drying it from 12% to below 0.5% moisture. The mill will be delivered via China-based contractor Sinoma Suzhou. Commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Australia: Maribyrnong council has unanimously rejected a proposal to expand Steel Cement's Yarraville plant. The US$113m expansion proposal involved the construction of new sheds, a workshop and two grinding mills for 24-hour clinker grinding, according to Star Weekly. The plan faced strong local opposition, with 109 objections citing environmental and amenity concerns. Lisel Thomas from the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group stated that pollution was already a big problem in the area, and would worsen following the expansion, while Steel Cement argued the expansion would offer environmental benefits, since its proximity to the Port of Melbourne would remove ‘1500 truck movements for every ship that arrives.’

Steel Cement was reportedly ‘disappointed but not surprised’ by the council’s decision.

US: Eagle Materials has awarded thyssenkrupp Polysius a contract for the modernisation and expansion of its Laramie, Wyoming cement plant. The modernisation project will result in an expansion of the plant's manufacturing capacity to approximately 1.1Mt/yr of cement. The project also includes the installation of an alternative fuel substitution system. The modernisation of the cement plant is expected to deliver benefits such as cost reductions, achieved with lower-cost alternative fuels and natural gas, simplified maintenance and improved operational efficiencies. The production expansion from the new finish mill will supplement the grinding capacity of the existing plant, which already operates with an integrated polysius booster mill. The polytrack ECO cooler will facilitate heat recovery and clinker cooling while improving process reliability. The project, which has received primary regulatory approvals, is slated to commence immediately [in November 2024], with construction scheduled for completion by the second half of 2026.

India: FLSmidth has won an order for the delivery of its core grinding technology. The order includes two high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) (3m diameter × 2m width), installation, commissioning, start-up support and a service agreement. The equipment is expected to be installed and commissioned during 2026. With this new order in India, FLSmidth has won a total of 15 HPGR orders or commitments in 2024. The value of the order has not been disclosed.

Mexico: Cemento Cruz Azul will invest nearly US$40m to build a new grinding mill at its Lagunas cement plant in Oaxaca to increase cement production capacity. General manager  Mario Morán said that construction will be completed by October 2025.

Víctor Velázquez, chair of the board of directors, said "The mill is designed to be highly energy efficient and environmentally friendly, as it does not use water."

Australia: The Australian federal government has granted Adbri US$32.5m for a new front-end engineering and design study at its Birkenhead cement plant. The study will assess the possible installation of a new vertical roller mill and post-production blending system at the plant. InDaily News has reported that the proposed upgrade will increase the plant’s production capacity and help to expand its range of reduced-CO₂ cements. The funding falls under the government’s US$260m Critical Inputs to Clean Energy programme, which aims to help decarbonise the Australian economy by 2050.

CEO Mark Irwin said “With the Commonwealth’s support we have the potential to further accelerate the decarbonisation of our operations and products.”