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Displaying items by tag: Licence
Sheerness grinding plant secures planning permission
15 December 2022UK: The planning applications committee of Kent County Council has approved Hercules Enterprises' Euro46.5m plan for a new 500,000t/yr grinding plant at Sheerness Docks on the Isle of Sheppey. The Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper has reported that the council assented subject to the producer's adherence to its particulate and dust management plan and continual noise monitoring. When commissioned, the new plant will create 52 new jobs, generate up to 144 truck movements per day and increase traffic on the A249 by 1%.
Hercules Enterprises' director Stuart Mason Elliot said that the new facility will help to move cement production away from its reliance on road transport. He said “This is not an open, dated, dusty old operation, but a fully-enclosed, clean, modern, environmentally responsible and sustainable plant designed to be a good neighbour to residents and other occupants of the port.”
South Korea: The government ordered 2500 cement truck drivers to return to work on 29 November 2022. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that drivers in the sector who continue their strike will be subject to criminal sanctions of up to three years in prison or a US$22,600 fine, and will have their truck driving licences suspended. The government explained that the order is justified due to cement truck drivers' failure to present 'good cause' for the industrial action.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol said "Taking the livelihoods of ordinary people and the national economy hostage to look out for their own needs is not justifiable."
Cement truck drivers make up 35% of a total 7080 truck drivers from 200 companies across the South Korean economy participating in the strike, which began on 24 November 2022.
N + P Group's planned Isbergues Subcoal plant receives clearance
25 November 2022France: Authorities have granted construction and environmental clearances to N + P Group to set up its planned Isbergues Subcoal solid recovered fuel (SRF) plant in Hauts-de-France. When commissioned in 2024, the 150,000t/yr-capacity plant will be France's first to commercially produce the coal alternative for cement and other industries. The company says that its products will be able to eliminate 100,000t/yr of industrial CO2 emissions nationally. N + P Group will use locally sourced waste at the unit.
Chief development officer Lars Jennissen said “Obtaining the environmental and construction permit is a major achievement for us, and we thank our colleagues and partners for their hard work in realising this important milestone. The new location will contribute to the circular economy in Hauts-de-France by converting regional non-recyclable wastes into new resources for regional customers, and it offers a massive potential CO2 savings for the French market.”
Ghana: A court has issued an injunction for Empire Cement to desist from operating its unlicensed McCarthy Hills cement facility. Ghana News Agency has reported that the China-based producer's activities at the site present a health hazard to local people. The McCarthy Hills Residents' Association said that the company was established to be exclusively a producer of paper bags for cement products.
Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas plans to make Euro6m-worth of investments in its Alcalá de Guadaira cement plant in Seville. The funds will go towards the construction of a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) line to help reduce the plant's petcoke consumption, as well as the renewal of the plant's mining licence for its quarry.
Cemex USA loses Dowe Flats quarry dispute
30 September 2022US: The Board of County Commissioners of Boulder, Colorado, has denied Cemex USA’s application for a 15-year extension to its Dowe Flats quarry mining licence, following its expiry on 30 September 2022. Commissioner Claire Levy cited dust, traffic, noise and disturbances to wildlife as reasons behind the decision.
Cemex USA’s nearby Lyons cement plant has previously relied on the quarry for the supply of 760,000t/yr of limestone.
Innovative Ash Solutions launches supplementary cementitious material made from incinerator waste
27 September 2022UK: Innovative Ash Solutions, a joint venture of Levenseat and Organic Innovative Solutions, has launched a new air pollution control residue (APCR)-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM). The supplier produces the material at its Lanarkshire treatment facility using APCR local from municipal solid waste (MSW) and wood biomass incinerators. Innovative Ash Solutions has received planning permission for a 54,000t/yr industrial-scale APCR-based SCM plant, and plans to establish a total of three plants in the UK, one of which will reach a capacity of 500,000t/yr. It has also signed an exclusive licensing agreement with an Australia-based importer for the material.
The SCM is designed to replace pulverised fly ash (PFA), of which the UK imported 325,000t in 2019, more than four times its 2012 import volumes of 76,000t.
Innovative Ash Solutions director Robert Gren said “We are excited to bring this new product to market. Innovative Ash Solutions is the first and, so far, the only company in the UK to have achieved ‘End of Waste’ accreditation for a PFA replacement for this type of use. Our research shows there is potential to produce more than 500,000t/yr of PFA replacement from UK APCRs every year, which would reduce the need for importing materials and support the decarbonisation of cement and concrete products.”
Boulder County Planning Commission recommends rejection of Cemex USA’s Dowe Flats mine licence extension application
02 September 2022US: The Boulder County Planning Commission has recommended that county commissioners should reject Cemex USA’s application to extend its licence to mine limestone at its Dowe Flats quarry until 2037. Local press has reported that Cemex USA previously agreed to shut down its Lyons cement plant at the expiry of its extended licence in 2037. The company says that it will be able to continue operating the plant without use of the mine.
Cemex USA executive vice president Trpimir Renic said "We do always try and consume the raw materials that are available to us at the existing site where we are currently operating. We think that operating that quarry for the next 15 years - supplying Lyons cement plant - is the most responsible resource management operation that we can undertake."
Vietnam: The State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) has uncovered limestone mining activity above licensed levels by multiple subsidiaries of the Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) between 2017 and 2022. In 2021, Vicem Bim Son’s Yen Duyen quarry yielded 499,000t of limestone, 14% above its licensed capacity. That same year, Vicem Hoang Mai extracted 154,000t of limestone from its Hoang Mai B quarry, 8.5% above capacity, while Vicem Tam Diep extracted 111,000t from its Hang Nuoc quarry, 6% above capacity.
The Viêt Nam News newspaper has reported that the SAV has asked Vicem to review the causes of the discrepancy between production and licences and clarify its responsibility.
India: Three new Indian concrete companies have separately secured agreements for the use of Finland-based Betolar’s Geoprime alkali-activated slag and fly ash additive. Reuters News has reported that the companies are Balaiji Cement Products, Shiv Tiles and SNEH Precast. Engineering company Godrej & Boyce has also signed a letter of intent with the supplier for pilot production of concrete blocks, paving slabs and other elements.
Betolar expects producers to achieve global concrete production volumes of 250,000t/yr of concrete containing Geoprime by 2023.