Displaying items by tag: Lime plant

Peru: Grupo Gloria says that a US$80m upgrade project at its Cal & Cemento Sur lime plant at Caracoto-Juliaca near Puno is underway. Construction of a sixth line at the site scheduled for completion for the end of 2017, according to the Gestión newspaper. The new line will increase production by 1000t/day to 2000t/day. The investment follows a US$120m investment since 2012 that will see the plant’s production capacity rise to 1Mt/yr by the end of 2017 from 0.13Mt/yr in 2013.

Brazil: Votorantim plans to spend US$50m towards building new plants and adapting its existing cement plants to produce agricultural lime in addition to cement. The cement producer intends to double its market share to 16% by 2021, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. The focus on the lime business follows a contraction in the construction industry and the growth of agribusiness.

"With the expansion of the agricultural frontier, demand will grow, especially in the Cerrado savannah, where soil need more correction. Experience shows that agricultural lime also helps in the crop productivity," said Laercio Solla, general manager for agriculture at Votorantim.

The company plans to open new quarries and build additional lime units at its existing cement plants. The focus at first will be on the region of Matopiba, which includes Tocantins and parts of Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia. Votorantim will build lime units attached to the cement plants at Nobres in Mato Grosso, Xambioa in Tocantins, Primavera in Pará and Idealiza in Goiás. The lime part of Votorantim’s business will receive most of its minerals from the cement division but also some from Votorantim Metals, the group’s mining division. It will also build two new 0.5Mt/yr lime quarries in Pará and in the Matopiba region.

Lime represents a small part of the company’s business. In 2015 it produced less than 2Mt of agricultural lime compared to 65.8Mt of cement, mortar and aggregates. Agricultural lime production is also expected to be less susceptible to foreign currency exchange rates as its market its mostly domestic.

US: FCT Combustion has announced new orders in the US. The Graymont lime plant in Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania has ordered two low NO_x Gyro-Therm MKII burning systems for coal, natural gas and solid alternative fuels firing. The Lehigh Cement plant in Redding, California has ordered a Turbujet burner for coal, petcoke, natural gas and solid wastes firing. No value for either order was released.

Germany: Rheinkalk GmbH has commissioned Silobau Thorwesten to supply a large capacity silo to its Flandersbach lime plant. The silo was originally commissioned in March 2015 and is due to become operational in March 2016. The 42m silo has an explosion pressure shock resistant design and is equipped with ATEX-conform explosion vents and de-dusting filters from associate company Thorwesten Vent to handle combustible pulverised coal.

The scope of supply for this 1100m³ capacity silo also includes a discharging station for silo trucks which can convey the material pneumatically by rotary piston fan via the silo roof. A dust collector assists the filling process. Additionally, the new silo has a continuous weighing system with weighing cells and separately controllable fluidisation devices on two silo outlets. These installations help feed combustible material into the dosing system. For the circulation operation there is also a duct protected by a shut-off valve.

Besides planning and delivery of the main and sub-systems of the new silo, Silobau Thorwesten also handled the design and erection of the entire steel constructions, as well as the integration of the components into the existing process chain.

UK: Lhoist has announced that its Thrislington lime plant in the north of England will be mothballed. The decision came on the back of the recent closure of steel manufacturing facilities in the UK, to which the Thrislington plant supplied the vast majority of its dolomitic lime. A total of 40 staff will now commence a collective consultation process with management via union and employee representatives.

"Unfortunately demand for dolomitic lime from our Thrislington plant has drastically reduced, since the closure of steel manufacturing plants in this region," said Cedric de Vicq, Managing Director of Lhoist UK. "We are looking at opportunities to retain staff where possible."

Germany: HeidelbergCement has completed the disposal of its lime business in Germany to the Belgian Lhoist Group. Both companies agreed not to disclose any details about the transaction.

The HeidelbergCement assets comprised two lime plants in Germany, the Walhalla Kalkwerk in Regensburg, Bavaria and Kalkwerk Istein in Istein, Baden-Württemberg. Both lime plants were modernised in recent years with modern kiln technology. They generated a turnover of about Euro45m in 2014 and employed approximately 180 people.

New Zealand: The third-largest lime producer in the world, US-based Graymont, has bought the Makareao lime plant in Otago from Holcim and took over the facility on 1 July 2015. Graymont, which has extensive interests in Canada, the US and Mexico, has also bought the McDonald's lime plant at Te Kuiti, Waikato, New Zealand.

Graymont Makareao's operations manager Craig Porter said that the lime plants' output had grown over the last two or three years and that he was excited about the new ownership. Staffing at the plant will not be affected.

Holcim's Weston cement plant project was put on hold in 2013 after it decided to import cement into New Zealand and build two new terminals, including one at Timaru, about four months from the completion of the plant. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said that Holcim still owns the Weston site, associated quarries for limestone, coal and sand and consent for the cement plant that could be established there.

India: Prism Cement is planning a 4.4Mt/yr capacity limestone mining project at the village of Kotapadu and Kalvatala in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. 6.63km² of land has been acquired. The project will come also include a 3Mt/yr capacity clinker plant and a 48MW coal-fired power plant. The project is waiting for the new industrial policy to be established by the State Government.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Oetelshofen Kalk, a family-owned company with a 114-year-long tradition in the production of lime in Germany, is considering acting as a strategic partner to open a lime plant with Geoinženjering in Tuzla Canton. The first stage of investment involves the production of aggregates and drawing up plans to build a lime plant. Prime minister Bahrija Umihanić said that the government of Tuzla Canton was available to all investors, especially those who have long-term plans and create new jobs for the citizens of Tuzla Canton.

Oman: Carmeuse, a specialist company in the production of lime and lime-related products, said that it is on course to bring part of its lime-calcining plant in Oman's Dhofar Governorate into operation during the second half of 2014.

Carmeuse Majan LLC, a joint venture company led by Belgium-based Carmeuse Holding SA, is setting up the project in the Salalah Free Zone with an investment of around US$180m. A total of eight kilns, each with a lime capacity of 125,000t/yr, are envisioned as part of the project. Development of the plant is planned in phases, with initial production planned for the second half of 2014.

The plant's output is primarily targeted at India, where demand for lime products is rising sharply. The Gulf region is also seen as a promising market for Carmeuse's products. Dhofar's relative proximity to the Indian subcontinent and Middle Eastern markets, coupled with the presence of a deepwater port in Salalah, are key factors underlying Carmeuse's decision to invest in the Sultanate.

The lime-calcining venture is expected to contribute to a further spurt in general cargo volumes handled by the Port of Salalah. Mineral exports have continued to fuel the growth of general cargo volumes, which soared to a record 7.94Mt at the end of 2013, up by 9.5% from the previous year's volume of 7.25Mt. Exports of limestone and gypsum accounted for much of this growth, although significant volumes of cement, fuel and methanol were also handled. A new General Cargo Terminal is under construction at the logistics hub to cater to the steady growth in mineral products and other bulk commodities.