Displaying items by tag: Limestone

India: JK Cement has won a bid for 250Mt of limestone reserves in Lakhpat Punrajpur, Kutch, Gujarat, through a Request for Proposal from Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation. The reserves are expected to supply the company with raw materials for the next 40 years.

JK Cement Group president Amit Kothari said "This strategic partnership not only strengthens our resource base, but also highlights our focus on ensuring a steady supply of premium raw materials for high-quality cement production.”

India: JK Cement has entered a joint venture with Saifco Cement, through which it will expand its offering in northern India. JK Cement will acquire a 60% stake in Saifco Cement for US$20.1m to expand in Jammu and Kashmir, where Saifco owns limestone reserves of 129Mt across 144 hectares. The acquisition will involve both the companies working together to increase the capacity of cement production by leveraging the expanse of the limestone reserves in the next five years, according to a press release.

JK Cement CEO Madhav Singhania said "Cement demand typically leads economic expansion by a factor of 1.2 in regions with significant infrastructural development opportunities, and Kashmir is undoubtedly one of these regions."

Cambodia: The government has cancelled over 460 hectares of cement projects in Kampong Trach district, Kampot, to preserve the region's ecotourism and cultural heritage, according to Construction & Property Magazine. The decision will affect a project licensed to BYRICH Construction Material Company.

Its project spans 463 hectares across six limestone-rich mountainous sites, with a license valid from March 2020 to March 2035.

Malaysia: Borneo Cement (Sabah) (BCS) plans to convert its upcoming integrated cement plant in Sabah's Tongod district into a tourist destination once the plant begins operations in May 2025. According to BCS chair Masiung Banah, limestone processing and environmental protection practices could serve as a an ‘attractive package’ for foreign and domestic tourists, according to The Star Malaysia. He said that limestone areas rich in flora and fauna and tropical ecosystems would be maintained without being polluted by factory waste. The plant will also reportedly be made into a research hub for Malaysian universities. It is currently in its first phase of development.

Italy: Cementir Holding has blamed a fall in earnings in the first nine months of 2024 on “lower results achieved in all geographical areas except Egypt.” It added that sales had fallen due to a decrease in volumes in some places and negative currency effects in Türkiye and Egypt. The group’s revenue fell by 5% year-on-year to €1.24bn in the first nine months of 2024, from €1.30bn in the same period in 2023. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 9% to €296m from €326m. Sales volumes of cement and clinker remained stable at 7.98Mt. It noted that volumes increases were reported in Türkiye and, to a lesser extent, in Malaysia and the US. However, volumes of ready-mixed concrete rose by 5% to 3.33Mm³ from 3.18Mm³.

Francesco Caltagirone Jr, chair and CEO, said “The results for the first nine months of 2024 are in line with our expectations and, after several quarters of contraction, signs of a market turnaround in some geographies are emerging in the third quarter of 2024. We are strengthening our competitive position through initiatives such as: the investment on Kiln 4 in Belgium, the restart of the second line in Egypt, the acquisition in concrete in Nordic & Baltic, a new limestone quarry in Malaysia, and the repurchase of a large part of the minority interest in our Egyptian subsidiary, to prepare ourselves for any upcoming market opportunities”.

Zimbabwe: The government is looking at consolidating limestone deposits as part of the new Zimbabwe Industrial Reconstruction and Growth Plan. This plan aims to increase domestic clinker production so that ‘costly’ clinker imports are reduced, according to The Zimbabwean newspaper. The government hopes that the consolidation plan will stabilise the raw material supply chain, providing cement manufacturers with a steady source of limestone to meet demand without production interruptions. Zimbabwe’s cement industry reportedly has an installed capacity of 2.6Mt/yr, but only produces 1.65Mt/yr, with imports exceeding US$59m in 2023. The national demand is estimated at 1.8Mt/yr.

In order to support domestic production, the plan recommends increasing the cement import licence fee from US$100 to US$500 per 30t and reducing the electricity tariff from US$0.16/kWh to US$0.10/kWh.

US: Researchers at UCLA's Institute for Carbon Management have developed a new method called ZeroCAL that could eliminate ‘nearly all’ of the carbon dioxide emissions from the process of cement production, according to the UCLA Newsroom. The team created a process using limestone and a water-based solution containing ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Through membrane nanofiltration and an electrochemical process, they produced calcium hydroxide.

To meet ZeroCAL’s water demand, the team suggests focusing on cement plants near coasts or rivers. The researchers are reportedly working with Ultratech Cement to build a demonstration plant that will produce ‘several’ tonnes of lime per day using the ZeroCAL process. Currently, the process requires more energy than traditional lime production methods, but ongoing research aims to reduce its energy consumption.

Gaurav Sant, director of the Institute and professor at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, said “The ZeroCAL approach offers an elegant solution to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions associated with the process of cement production. First, it addresses the carbon emissions resulting from limestone’s decomposition while providing clean hydrogen and oxygen to heat the cement kiln. Second, it enables onsite decarbonisation while making use of existing kilns and limestone feedstocks without having to build separate carbon capture and storage facilities.”

Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) will invest approximately US$530m to build a cement plant and a limestone plant in Itaperuçu, Curitiba. Noticias Financieras News has reported that the project is set to begin construction in 2025 and will create 3000 jobs. The cement plant will receive about US$500m, covering 150 hectares with an additional 70 hectares for mining.

Currently, the company is obtaining environmental licences from the Water and Land Institute and will be supported by the government when construction starts in 2025. The initiative benefits from tax incentives under the Paraná Competitivo programme, which provides a tax reduction for companies and industries that want to invest in the state, aligning with efforts to boost local employment and economic growth.

China: Eaton and Langham hotels have collaborated with Green Island Cement to transform 8t of oyster shells into a sustainable cement alternative, sourcing 80% of the required limestone for cement.

Amie Lai Gor, general manager of sustainability at Great Eagle Holdings, parent company of the two hotels, said "We brought together like-minded partners to repurpose oyster shells as a sustainable raw material alternative for cement production. Our goal is to encourage more hotels and restaurants to participate, diverting more discarded oyster shells from landfills through upcycling.”

Raymond Cheung Wai-man, division manager at Green Island Cement, highlighted past challenges of separating the shells from impurities like mud and residual meat, which initially deterred the project.

Lai Gor added that future plans include working with local universities to assess the carbon reduction potential of substituting limestone with oyster shells in cement production. Despite the higher costs—tenfold compared to traditional limestone—Cheung believes that scaling up could significantly lower expenses.

South Korea: Ssangyong C&E has exported 30,000t of low-carbon limestone cement (Type IL) to the US, its first such shipment following three years of research and development, according to AJU News. The product reportedly has a reduced clinker content and maintains the same physical performance as general cement. The producer plans to export 200,000t to the US in 2024 and 600,000t in 2025.

A Ssangyong C&E official said "Currently, our country's national standards stipulate that mixed cement only uses slag, fly ash and pozzolan. In order to reduce carbon emissions in the future, conditions must be created where various types of eco-friendly cement, including limestone cement, can be used."