Egypt: Arabian Cement Company is replacing electrostatic precipitators at its Ain Sokhna cement plant with bag filters. Arab Finance News has reported that the project will commence in two phases. Arabian Cement Company will first install the filters in Line 1 of the plant, before subsequently installing them in Line 2. Italy-based air pollution control specialist Redecam Group will execute the upgrades.

Switzerland: Swiss cement shipments dropped by 10% year-on-year to 3.7Mt in 2023, from 4.1Mt in 2022. Shipments declined across all quarters, including by 10% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter. Cement with a reduced clinker factor grew to account for 96% of shipments from 95%, and rail shipments rose to 38%. Ready-mixed concrete plants received 73% of shipments, and building sites 21%.

The Swiss cement association, Cemsuisse, said that it anticipates continued uncertainties and high import pressures in 2024.

This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the Yazidi genocide in Sinjar, Iraq. Beginning on the night of 2 - 3 August 2014, ISIS displaced the entire Yazidi population from its homeland, amid a campaign of abductions and killings that claimed 12,000 victims.¹ A striking detail of this and other crimes of the self-proclaimed caliphate is the proximity of a Western corporate actor: cement producer Lafarge, whose subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria operated the Jalabiyeh cement plant in neighbouring northern Syria. On-going investigations have since helped uncover what may amount to complicity on the part of Lafarge and Lafarge Cement Syria in the form of payments dating back to August 2013.²

In a week that began with the abandoned Jalabiyeh cement plant ablaze following a drone strike,³ Lafarge learned that it will face trial in France over its alleged complicity in crimes against humanity committed by ISIS.⁴ On 16 January 2024, the French Court of Cassation upheld Lafarge and Lafarge Cement Syrias' indictments on the charge. Also reportedly indicted are (all former) Lafarge CEOs Bruno Lafont and Eric Olsen, vice president Christian Herrault and security director Jean-Claude Veillard and Lafarge Cement Syria CEOs Bruno Pescheux and Frédéric Jolibois, along with an intermediary and a Jordan-based risk management consultant.^{5, 6} The collaboration in question includes monthly payments to ISIS and other armed groups worth US$15.5m, a lower French court found in May 2022. It may be more than another 20 months before the thorny mass of issues to be considered by the court resolves itself in convictions, or cleared names.

Another front in Lafarge and Lafarge Cement Syria's legal battle over what happened in Syria is the US civil court system. Activist and survivor Nadia Murad and 426 other Yazidis have filed an Anti-Terrorism Act claim for damages, based on the companies' previous guilty plea to the US Department of Justice to conspiracy to the tune of US$5.92m in October 2022. Murad and fellow claimants allege ‘far higher’ total payments, pointing to correspondence between Lafarge Cement Syria and its intermediary that references ‘[sic] ten millions that we pay directly to them, i.e. to ISIS.’ The DoJ estimates the total value of the conspiracy for all parties at US$80.5m.

On 6 August 2014 (the fourth day of the Yazidi genocide), Lafarge and Lafarge Cement Syria signalled their agreement to enter into a new long-term agreement to share their revenues with ISIS. On 15 August 2014, the UN Security Council issued Resolution 2170 condemning 'any engagement in direct or indirect trade' with the organisation.⁷ Lafarge and Lafarge Cement Syria allegedly concluded the revenue-sharing agreement, under new terms more beneficial to ISIS, on that same day.

Lafarge Cement Syria finally evacuated the Jalabiyeh cement plant in September 2014, whereupon ISIS added it to its own five-plant international cement network, with sales worth US$583m/yr. The US-led Coalition bombed the site in October 2019 and it was subsequently occupied by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) forces. The strike on 14 January 2024 was part of a drone campaign by Turkish forces against Kurdish positions that the invaders say destroyed 23 targets.

It is conceivable that Turkish armed forces also had personal reasons for destroying this monument to Lafarge’s former presence in the region: on Lafarge’s stipulation, ISIS implemented a duty on Turkish cement entering its area of control, ostensibly charged at US$150/truck. As anyone familiar with the Turkish cement sector knows, one of the major investors in the industry happens to be the country’s military pension fund.

For the 400,000 Yazidis who have survived, the tragedy that began in August 2014 will not end soon. More than half remain in refugee camps. Among the missing are 2000 girls and women who the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism suspect ISIS may have 'further entrenched in human trafficking,' constituing a continuation of the genocide that has outlasted both the self-proclaimed caliphate and the French multinational that may have helped to bankroll it.⁸ Courts in different countries are helping bring to light a reign of terror that spanned international borders. In the US, some of its victims may find redress, while in France, justice may be closing in on anyone who might prove to have made common cause with the perpetrators.

References

1. RASHID, 'DESTROYING THE SOUL OF THE YAZIDIS,' Augut 2019, https://www.rashid-international.org/downloads/RASHID_Yazidi_Heritage_Destruction_Report_2019.pdf

2. Jenner & Block, 'IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,' 14 December 2013, www.jenner.com/a/web/fy85Wd97fANx7fwBecn31r/23-9186-as-filed-complaint2.pdf

3. ANHA, 'Turkish occupation army targets former Lafarge site,' 14 January 2024, https://hawarnews.com/en/turkish-occupation-army-targets-former-lafarge-site?__cf_chl_tk=mSB3Ph6iU.3FEJ.Z3ywRvcu2n.tOahhpLnd.Fmqk0SU-1705415232-0-gaNycGzNDHs

4. Reuters, 'Lafarge can be charged with 'complicity in crimes against humanity' over Syria plant, French court says,' 16 January 2024, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/lafarge-charged-complicity-crimes-against-132904436.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANqF5SKpSZ7KB5rT5rjo_vFZ5LGdZ9bVkC5SeNw3iZGneLy5Tir2dsb1O3GQjITBRSF_xEs2GDBcSU94nKOocm-npnTznmbfhKB_FgOsBCg-9lO7ilPP2phHAcGahghG9yjmFoWVd24uU7xEwZ2RZqmmMaE2bSIIcTGRuh4LAlXD

5. Madeline Young, Lafarge's Case Cemented, 2021, https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=eilr-recent-developments

6. Le Télégramme, 'Complicité de crimes contre l’humanité : les poursuites contre Lafarge validées par la Cour de cassation?' 16 January 2023, www.letelegramme.fr/france/complicite-de-crimes-contre-lhumanite-les-poursuites-contre-lafarge-validees-par-la-cour-de-cassation-6505590.php

7. UN Security Council, 'Security Council Adopts Resolution 2170 (2014) Condemning Gross, Widespread Abuse of Human Rights by Extremist Groups in Iraq, Syria,' 15 August 2014, https://press.un.org/en/2014/sc11520.doc.htm#:~:text=Through%20the%20unanimous%20adoption%20of,as%20ISIS)%20and%20Al%2DNusra

8. Al-Dayel et al, ‘ISIS and Their Use of Slavery,’ 27 January 2020, https://www.icct.nl/publication/isis-and-their-use-slavery

UK: C-Capture has appointed Warren East as its new chair. East was previously CEO of automobiles producer Rolls-Royce and computing company ARM Holdings. C-Capture says that East will bring almost 40 years’ experience in commercialising innovative technologies to its own efforts to develop a scalable, modular model for carbon capture. East is a chartered engineer and holds an engineering degree from Oxford University and a CBE for services to engineering and technology.

C-Capture CEO Tom White said “I am absolutely delighted to announce that Warren will be joining us. His wealth of experience in commercialising novel technologies along with his commitment to the energy transition is a true asset to the company at a critical period in our growth. His expertise in successfully scaling and transforming businesses will be invaluable as we move forward with the commercialisation of our unique technology and expand our investor base.”

Warren East said “I am excited to be joining the team at this pivotal point and to work with the management to scale the business. C-Capture’s carbon capture technology has all the elements needed to break through the barriers currently preventing widespread adoption of this critical technology for the world to achieve Net Zero.”

India: Dalmia Bharat Group has announced its promotion of Gaurav Rajput to the role of deputy general manager finance and accounts. Rajput joined Dalmia Bharat Group from IT company IBM in 2023. He previously worked for LafargeHolcim India and ACC.

US: Monarch Cement announced vice president of cement manufacturing Kenny Miller’s retirement in a posting published on OTC Markets on 15 January 2024. Miller had held his position since April 2014. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Friends University, Kansas.

India: Ambuja Cements has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Telangana for the construction of a new cement facility in the state. The News Minute has reported that the producer plans to invest US$168m in the project. The MoU is part of an agreement between parent company Adani Group and the state of Telangana covering investments worth US$1.49bn. Other projects include an MoU with Adani Group’s renewables subsidiary Adani Green Energy for the construction of a total of 1350MW of energy storage capacity.

Bangladesh: Crown Cement (formerly MI Cement Factory) officially commenced production from its Munshiganj grinding plant’s new Unit 6 on 14 January 2024. The Daily Star newspaper has reported that the new unit increases the Munshiganj plant’s capacity by 72% to 5.7Mt/yr. MI Cement Factory previously signed a US$22.8m syndicated loan facility for the expansion with Eastern Bank Limited on 28 May 2023. The producer said that delays with suppliers and currency crises postponed its delivery of the project. It first postponed the expansion – at that time valued at US$54.6m – due to domestic overcapacity amid the Covid-19 outbreak in October 2020.

Saudi Arabia: Najran Cement has informed investors via a posting on the Saudi Exchange that it expects its cost of sales to rise by 13%. This is due to an increase in the price of fuels by its supplier Saudi Aramco. The cement producer noted that the waste heat recovery (WHR) system installed at its Najran cement plant has partly reduced the anticipated impacts on costs.

Najran Cement said “The company will work during the coming period to explore ways to reduce the financial impact of this adjustment on the company’s profits and will continue to implement its plans to reduce costs and improve production and operating efficiency. It will also work with government agencies to explore ways to diversify energy sources.”

France/Middle East: The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, has upheld Lafarge’s indictment on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity, Reuters has reported. A lower court previously concluded that the company had paid US$15.5m to armed groups in the Middle East, including ISIS, via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria. In its latest ruling, the Court of Cassation quashed another charge of endangering the lives of employees, on grounds that Lafarge’s foreign labour relations are not subject to French law. The group had reportedly not appealed a further charge of financing a terrorist enterprise.

Read the latest on Lafarge’s on-going trials in this week’s Global Cement analysis.