Displaying items by tag: Raw Materials

India: Adani Group subsidiary HDC Bulk Terminal has concluded an agreement with the ports authority of Haldia Dock Complex for the construction of a new terminal at Berth 2 of the Port in West Bengal. The facility will have a handling capacity of 3.74Mt/yr, and will receive bulk solids including raw materials for Adani Group’s cement subsidiaries in the state. The total cost of the terminal’s construction will be US$37.4m. Work will begin before April 2023.

Paraguay: Cementos Concepción (CECON) has started commissioning its new plant at San Lázaro in the Concepción department by grinding raw material. Alexander Gonzalez, the project manager for the plant, told La Nación newspaper that start-up of the unit had been successful and that the process would now continue along the production line. The plant’s kiln is expected to start operation in October 2022.

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.

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement Group increased its turnover to US$45.2m in the first quarter of it 2023 financial year, up by 53% year-on-year from first-quarter 2022 financial year levels. A shortage of imported raw materials and the country’s on-going fuel crisis hampered local cement demand. The group’s cement sales volumes declined during the quarter, while its cost of sales increased by 24% year-on-year. ‘Steep’ currency depreciation compounded the effects of the increase in expenses. Nonetheless, the company recorded a profit of US$1.48m.

The producer said “Tokyo Cement has taken many proactive measures to minimise the impact of economic downturn on the group's performance. Anticipating a challenging environment, the group has reforecasted demand, rescheduled sourcing and production plans, and adjusted cash flows accordingly. The group has deployed drastic cost saving measures, streamlined operations, and postponed capital expenditure. While the short to medium term economic landscape remains uncertain, Tokyo Cement has a proven track record of resilience and resurgence, and is committed to rebuilding the nation, stronger than ever before.”

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has announced its next price rise from the start of October 2022. It previously raised the price of its cement-related products by 20% in April 2022. It blamed this on rising raw material, energy and logistics costs. A further price will be considered from April 2023.

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s sales revenue rose by 11% year-on-year to Euro9.95bn in the first half of 2022 from Euro8.94bn in the same period in 2021. Its cement and clinker sales volumes dropped by 4.8% to 58.8Mt from 61.8Mt, while its profit for the period attributable to shareholders dropped by 28% to Euro542m from Euro755m. During the reporting period, the producer reduced its net debt by 8.9% to Euro6.79bn from Euro7.45bn.

Chair Dominik von Achten said "The first half of 2022 was characterised by the strong increase in energy and raw material prices. In this persistently difficult market environment we were again able to significantly increase our revenue.” He continued, “In view of the unprecedented increase in energy prices in recent weeks, the second half of the year remains challenging. For the full year, we continue to expect a significant increase in revenue, while for the result from current operations we now anticipate a slight decline on a comparable basis compared to the strong previous year.”

Italy: Cementir Holding’s sales rose by 22% year-on-year to Euro811m in the first half of 2022 from Euro665m in the first half of 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 7.7% to Euro144m from Euro134m. Its net profit grew by 39% to Euro66.6m from Euro47.9m. During the half year the group sold 5.41Mt of cement and clinker, down by 0.8% from 5.46Mt. The group attributed this to local sales declines in China, Denmark and Turkey.

Chair and chief executive officer Francesco Caltagirone said, “The first-half 2022 results are aligned with our forecasts. Despite the severe geopolitical tensions and the significant increase in raw materials, energy and logistic costs, the group is showing great resilience thanks to an increased geographical and product diversification and a focused cost management.”

Philippines: Cemex subsidiary Solid Cement is installing a new US$356m, 1.5Mt/yr line at its Antipolo cement plant. When operational in April 2024, the line will increase the plant’s capacity by 79% to 3.4Mt/yr. Over the first four months of the project since March 2022, Solid Cement invested US$197m in silos and mechanical installation. The new 1.5Mt/yr line will use Low Temperature Clinker technology to reduce its CO₂ emissions, and will also recycle waste hot gases for raw materials drying.

Solid Cement is building the plant using 6000t of its own Vertua reduced-CO2 cement, which it says will further reduce its net carbon footprint by 564t.

Philippines president and CEO Luis Franco said “We will maintain our active role in supporting the development of this nation, as we have done in the past 25 years.”

Kyrgyzstan: Kant Cement has begun excavating the Severnaya Gryada limestone deposit near to its Kant cement plant. The producer says that the limestone has a higher purity than that from its existing Agalatas mine. It therefore expects the Kant plant to reduce its raw materials consumption and eliminate a part of its dust emissions. Kant Cement currently replaces a part of the limestone in the plant’s cement production with 65,000t/yr of fly ash.

Germany: Cemex Deutschland has acquired a 53% majority stake in Saxony-based stone mining company ProStein. ProStein’s six quarries yielded 3Mt of raw materials in 2021. Cemex Deutschland says that the acquisition doubles its own raw materials capacity.

ProStein is the leading stone producer in Eastern Germany, where Cemex Deutschland operates its Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg, cement plant.