Displaying items by tag: Licence

US: Boulder County has initiated action to terminate the operating licence of the Cemex cement plant near Lyons, Colorado, citing improper expansion of use. Dale Case, director of Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting, sent a notice to the company, motivated by a ‘significant’ rise in traffic. The letter said that the increased traffic created a need for new traffic construction and infrastructure, and requires a new access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

The plant has been operational since 1965, but faced changes in 1994 when Boulder County amended its land use code, necessitating special use approval for open mining at the Dowe Flats Quarry. The special use approval for the quarry expired on 30 September 2022, leading to termination of all mining operations and multiple complaints alleging the cement plant's non-compliance with county code and traffic congestion. A CDOT study revealed an increase in truck traffic since the quarry's closure, with daily trips increasing by 50% year-on-year.

Cemex now has a 30-day window to contest the director's determination, reduce plant use, or appeal to the Boulder County Board of Commissioners. The plant will continue operating under existing conditions until a final decision is reached.

Vietnam: The Vietnamese Ministry of Construction has recommended that Long Thanh Cement receive a mining licence for clay mines T51 and T52 Nui Nghe. The licence allows for an extraction capacity of 1.1Mt/yr of clay. This initiative aims to provide a stable supply of clay materials for the Long Thanh cement plant in Ha Nam province, which is undergoing expansion from 0.91Mt/yr to 2.3Mt/yr. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reports that these clay mines have a claystone reserve of 4.33Mt and a sandstone and siltstone reserve of 1.6Mt viable for cement production.

Uganda: The government has granted a 21-year mining licence to Sunbird Resources to support a cement plant project near the border with Kenya. The licence will allow the local company, which is working with China-based West China Cement, to mine limestone, according to Reuters. The partners intend to build a 1Mt/yr integrated cement plant.

Spain: Holcim España’s Viver quarries have received an Environmental Impact Declaration (EID) to expand from 13.5 to 37.5 hectares. This expansion will enable the company to extract 300,000t/yr of limestone to supply its Sagunto cement plant. The EID will allow the company to continue to operate the quarry until 2054.

Ghana: The Ghana Standards Authority has enacted new quality standards for cement products. BNN Breaking News Ghana has reported that the new standards are intended to uphold safety for users of concrete buildings. This will reportedly be accompanied by increased enforcement against substandard products, including the roll-out of a new licensing system.

US: France-based Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with a partner in the US to build and operate ‘several’ new units to produce its clinkerless cement in Florida. Business Wire News has reported that the units will employ the same model as Hoffmann Green France Cement Technologies’ existing H2 unit in France.

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "Following on from the contract signed with Shurfah in Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago, we are delighted to continue our international expansion with the announcement of this future site in the United States. This agreement with a Florida-based partner demonstrates the appeal, beyond our borders, of our clinker-free cement and our vertical production model. We are proud to be working alongside our partner to decarbonise the construction sector in a state as strategic as Florida, the third most populous state in the US.”

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has obtained environmental clearance to mine up to 2.5Mt/yr of limestone from it Kachchh mine in Gujarat. The producer says that it plans to invest US$24m in expanding its operations at the site.

India: ACC has received a renewed licence for its Rajasthan limestone mine, allowing it to increase its extraction of limestone there to 1.5Mt/yr. Local press has reported that the mine presently produces 1Mt/yr of limestone for use at the company’s 1.5Mt/yr Lakheri cement plant in Bundi District.

Zimbabwe: The government has enacted new rules according to which companies and individuals may import up to 100 50kg bags of bagged cement without an import licence. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that the measure aims to alleviate an on-going shortage. The government previously indicated that it would ease restrictions on cement imports for the first time since 2021 after prices doubled year-on-year on 7 November 2023.

Paraguay: Andrés Wardle, the head of Yguazú Cementos, has warned that the government does not need to allow the current levels of cement imports. He said that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was issuing “unnecessary” licences for imports because local demand levels were too low, according to the ABC Color newspaper. He added that local cement producers were able to meet domestic demand for cement as they had idle production capacity. The government has authorised import licences for 80,000t of cement and licences for another 60,000t have been authorised but are pending entry.