Displaying items by tag: Grinding
Mozambique: Cimentos da Beira, the newest cement producer in Mozambique, plans to export some of its cement to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi, in addition to supplying the domestic market, according to the Managing Director of the company, Wouter Trollip.
The plant, with an installed cement production capacity of 800,000t/yr, is expected to start operating later in October 2015, after tests of the substation that will supply electricity are complete. Trollip said that the plant already has 40,000t of clinker in stock in order to start cement production as soon as the power supply is guaranteed. With British and South African investment of US$45m, Cimentos da Beira employs 70 workers. Sofala Province now has three cement plants, including Cimentos de Moçambique and the recent Austral Ciment, an Austrian investment, both located in Dondo.
New grinding plant for Cemex in Nicaragua
26 August 2015Nicaragua: Cemex has announced that it will open a new grinding plant in Managua department, Nicaragua by the end of August 2015. The facility required an investment of US$30m and is expected to double the firm's output in the country. This inauguration is part of an expansion strategy with a total allocation of US$55m, which will be developed by 2017.
India: According to the Economic Times, JSW Cement plans to bring down its cement-making cost by as much as 75% by setting up grinding units closer to markets, in contrast to the traditional model of clinker units placed near the source of raw material.
According to the plan, the new units will use clinker imported from countries that have a surplus, thus allowing JSW Cement to add 1Mt/yr of capacity for about US$28.3m, compared to US$132m required to set up a similar capacity under the traditional model.
JSW Cement plans to establish several such grinding units on the country's east coast in West Bengal and Odisha, taking its cement capacity up to 20Mt/yr by 2020. "Our novel model involves setting up inexpensive grinding facilities closer to the markets rather than building cost-intensive clinker units closer to the raw material reserves," said Parth Jindal, son of group chairman Sajjan Jindal.
According to Anil Kumar Pillai, CEO at JSW Cement, typically 67% of cement capacity investment goes into clinkerisation and 33% goes into grinding. "We are investing 33% in grinding units. Hence, our balance sheet will be far leaner, service cost on interest will be far lower and our profitability ratio will be far better," said Pillai.
"Once our balance sheet gets strengthened with strong earnings profile to support large-scale investments, we will look at backward integration to acquire limestone reserves and set up clinkerising units," said Jindal.
India: According to the Hindu Business Line, Sanghi Industries has installed a 1.2Mt/yr capacity grinding mill at its plant in Sanghipuram, Kutch. This increases the plants total capacity to 4.1Mt/yr. Sanghi Industries also plans to install a 15MW waste heat recovery system at the plant.
Mystery company to build grinding plant in Kenya
02 June 2015Kenya: An unnamed company filed with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) to build a new grinding plant in western Kenya on a 202,343m2 piece of land. It is projected to produce 730,000t/yr of cement.
"The plant will increase cement production in Kenya by 2000t/day. With the exception of clinker that will be imported into the country, all the other raw materials will be mined locally," said the unnamed company in its filling with Nema.
US: Essroc Italcementi Group has signed an agreement with Holcim to purchase its slag cement grinding facility in Camden, New Jeresy. As part of the transaction, Essroc will also obtain Holcim's cement terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The acquisition will finalise when the pending Holcim and Lafarge merger completes later in 2015.
"The acquisition of the Camden slag grinding facility reiterates Essroc's commitment to the northeast market," said Francesco Carantani, Essroc's president and chief executive officer. "With the focus on sustainability and durability, there is a projected growth in the demand and usage of slag cement."
The Camden facility can produce upwards of 700,000t/yr of slag cement. Essroc currently produces slag cement at its Picton, Ontario, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, cement plants and at its slag grinding facility in Middlebranch, Ohio. With the addition of Camden, Essroc has a combined annual production capacity in excess of 1Mt/yr. Holcim's staff in Camden and Everett will join Essroc once the transaction completes.
Scancem applies to International Finance Corporation for Euro11m grinding plant in Guinea-Bissau
14 January 2015Guinea-Bissau: Maxime Cardoz and HeidelbergCement subsidiary Scancem has applied to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for a loan of Euro11m to help finance Guinea-Bissau's first cement grinding plant. The project is estimated to cost a total of Euro22m.
The Cardoz Cimentos de Bissau project is 60% under the ownership of Cardoz and 40% by Scancem. Its location will be 1.5km from the port of Bissau, a plant location in an area which at present absorbs 50% of the country's cement consumption. A decision on the funding will likely be finalised on 27 February 2015.
Cement consumption in Guinea-Bissau is dependent upon imports, mainly sourced from Senegal via the country's sole port at Bissau and accounts for 80% of its international trade.
Bihar government approves US$54m grinding plant for Shree Cement
19 November 2014India: The Bihar state cabinet has approved a US$54m cement grinding plant planned by Shree Cement planned in the Aurangabad district of the state.
"The company had proposed to set up a cement plant with a production capacity of 2Mt/yr. It will also have a 12MW biomass-based captive power plant," said B Pradhan, Principal Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The state government agency Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has provided 27 hectares of land on lease for the project. The project will provide employment to 300 skilled and unskilled persons.
Brazil: Provale, a manufacturer of calcium carbonate, plans to enter the well and white cement markets. It is setting up a 190,000t/yr capacity cement grinding plant at Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Esprito Santo. Provale is currently waiting for environmental clearance to start ground breaking in a 50,000m2 area. US$4m of the project funding is coming from the US private equity company, Resource Capital Funds, which has bought a 22% stake in Provale. President Emilio Nemer Neto said that talks with a prospective partner in Europe for the acquisition of clinker are underway.
Chettinad Cement prepares for US$616m expansion plans
18 September 2014India: Chettinad Cement Corporation is moving forward with plans for projects in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka costing a total of US$616m.
The Indian cement producer is building a greenfield 3.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh at a cost of US$181m. It is expanding its cement plant at Gulbarga in Karnataka to 5.75Mt/yr from 2.5Mt/yr and adding a 130MW captive thermal power plant at a cost of US$330m. It is also building two 2Mt/yr grinding plants and two 50MW thermal power plants at Solapur, Maharashtra at a cost of US$108m.
Chettinad Cement has received all the necessary clearances for its greenfield project in Andhra Pradesh and an expansion project in Karnataka, according to local media. The projects in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are expected to be operational within three years of the start of construction. The company has acquired 1000 acres for its proposed cement plant in Andhra Pradesh and 120 acres for its grinding plant in Maharashtra.
"In the last 20 years, the installed capacity of the cement units has increased from 1Mt/yr to 13.5Mt/yr. With the commissioning of new and expanded units, it is possible to scale up to 20Mt/yr,'' said Chettinad Cement Group Managing Director MAMR Muthiah.
Muthiah added that the company had a debt-equity ratio of 1:1. The upcoming projects will be financed through a combination of debt and internal accruals. Chettinad Cement is also considering expansion opportunities in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. At present, Chettinad Cement is currently operating at 50% of its production capacity due to 'sluggish' market conditions.