Displaying items by tag: Quarry

Spain: LafargeHolcim España says that a planned Euro8m investment to its Sagunto integrated cement plant is dependent on talks with the Valencian local government on the medium and long-term use of its quarry. Plant director José Luis Coleto said that this expenditure is part of a Euro20m package that LafargeHolcim has scheduled for the country until 2022. He added that the plant has spent Euro3.5m on the plant in 2019 on control systems upgrades and installation of an automated laboratory.

US: Residents of Shenango, Pennsylvania attended a public hearing regarding Cemex USA’s plan to begin limestone mining at a 593 acre site in the township. New Castle News has reported that the proposal is part of a planned reopening of the company’s 0.9Mt/yr integrated Wampum plant, decommissioned in 2010 after 136 years’ operation, located nearby in Lawrence County. Cemex USA director of cement resources Mark Davies said that Cemex has plans that would generate ‘as much as US$109m’ for Lawrence County and Pennsylvania. Cemex’s legal staff advised residents that 100 new jobs and at least US$100m was at stake.

Sweden: The Land and Environmental Court has ruled in favour of Cementa for the renewal of its extraction licence for its quarry near the 2.5Mt/yr integrated Slite plant in Gotland. The company says that the decision ensures the continued operation of the cement plant. “We see this as confirmation that it is possible to continue limestone extraction without jeopardising water security or harming protected areas or species,” said Cementas CEO Magnus Ohlsson. “This gives us peace of mind and the chance to focus on future work in order to further develop sustainable cement production in Slite.”

India: Dalmia Bharat has successfully lobbied the Sundargarh, Orisha district government to request the inclusion of the company’s proposed 446 acre expansion to its Lanjiberna limestone and dolomite mine in the agenda of a village meeting in Kukuda, in which public opinion and suggestions will be recorded. The New India Express Newspaper has reported that, due to the special status of Kukuda as a Scheduled Tribal area, the village meeting forms a necessary preliminary step prior to district government permission of planned works. In October 2018, villagers in nearby Jhagarpur successfully blocked construction of Dalmia Bharat’s proposed Industrial Training Institute. The Lanjiberna mine will serve Dalmia Bharat’s 2.3Mt/yr integrated Rajgangpur plant, which was completed in 2019 at a cost of US$281m and awaits commissioning.

Germany: Buzzi-Unicem subsidiary Dyckerhoff has paved the 3700m2 of road outside the limestone quarry at its 0.4Mt/yr integrated Geseke plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. It used a concrete blend containing PKZ Doppel N cement produced at the Geseke plant, which it applied to a thickness of 20cm over an asphalt base. Dyckerhoff made the decision to pave the road ‘to minimise dust emissions, especially in prolonged dry spells.’ It says the concrete’s low water content and good compression give the road a strength rating of 50N/mm2.

US: The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting public comment on a proposed shale-clay exploration project by Ireland-based CRH’s subsidiary Ash Grove Cement near its Clark Gulch quarry. The Observer has reported that the project would consist of construction of a 0.62km road and the extraction and transportation of a 10,000t sample. The window for comment closes on 3 January 2020.

China: Huaxin Cement’s Guoditang quarry in Dongchuan district, Kunming has won the Chinese government’s ‘Green Mine of the Year 2019’ award after receiving total investments of US$0.9m for vegetation recovery. Huaxin integrates land reclamation and afforestation into its step-mining method at the quarry, using planting quilts, sprinklers and drip irrigation devices to recover 80,000m2 of vegetation so far. The company has estimated that the mine will continue to supply its limestone needs in the area until late 2033.

The National Civil Affairs Commission named Huaxin Cement a ‘National Model Unit for National Unity and Progress’ on 17 December 2019. It is the only building materials producer to have obtained the title.

Bulgaria: The Bulgarian government has terminated Devnya Cement’s concessionary contract for the extraction of quartz sand for cement production from the Selski Nivi deposit. SeeNews has reported that the company requested the contract’s termination due to alterations to its production strategy in response to market conditions.

In 2018, Devnya Cement generated a revenue of Euro70.3m, which translated into Euro8.65m profit.

UK/Ireland: Sean Quinn has bought ‘substantial’ tracts of limestone-rich land in Cavan and Fermanagh on 99-year leases, giving him sole extraction rights, over the past three and half years since his final severance with Quinn Industrial Holdings in mid-2016, according to the Sunday Times. The purchases may have been aimed at strengthening his position in his campaign to re-attain control over the company. It has stated that it has succeeded in supplementing its on-site limestone supply with material from further afield. “These materials are of a higher quality,” said a Quinn Industrial Holding spokesperson.

UAE: India-based JSW Cement has applied to borrow between US$50m and US$55m from two UAE-based banks to continue development on its planned 1Mt/yr integrated Fujairah plant, the capacity of which it plans to double to 2Mt/yr within a year of its scheduled January 2020 opening. Arabian Business has reported that the loan will bring the project’s total investment to US$110m with a 30:70 equity/debt ratio. The government has granted JSW Cement a 35-year quarry lease and a licence for the extraction of up to 6Mt/yr of limestone for use at the plant, which will be served by a Terex MPS 1200t/hr crushing plant.
550 local people directly or indirectly employed in cement production at Fujairah.