Canada: Lafarge Canada, Geocycle Canada and Rio Tinto are working together to reuse waste from the aluminium smelting process to make cement. The three companies have developed a new product called Alextra, made from used potlining, as part of the aluminium electrolysis process that would otherwise go to landfill. Lafarge Canada plans to produce on average 1Mt/yr of cement at its plant in Bath, Ontario, using Alextra as an alternative to raw materials such as alumina and silica. The companies will also explore options to further expand the supply of Alextra from Rio Tinto’s Potlining Treatment Plant in Saguenay-Lac-St Jean to Lafarge Canada's network of cement plants.

"This partnership shows how Rio Tinto is innovating to find new ways to reuse waste, generating value from our operations and reducing their environmental footprint,” said Rio Tinto Aluminium manager valorisation and marketing Stéphane Poirier. “We have worked closely with Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada over the past two years to develop a product that meets their needs and look forward to building on this partnership,”

Tanzania: The Ministry of Industry and Trade said it is working to connect natural gas supplies to the local cement industry to help reduce operation costs and ultimately reduce the cost of cement to consumers. "The government is looking for the best way to ensure that gas is easily available, especially for existing (cement) industries in the Coastal Zone," said Minister for Industry and Trade Innocent Bashungwa.

The minister has also held a joint meeting with Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (Investment) Angellah Kairuki and nine cement manufacturers, according to the Tanzania Daily News newspaper. The meeting covered issues such as poor roads, energy supplies and taxation.

In 2018 the government set cement prices both locally and for import.

Nigeria: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Africa says that it has signed an agreement with the Cross River State government to build a 38km concrete road connecting its local cement plant to the wider network. Chief executive officer (CEO) Khaled El Dokani said the project was a major contribution of Lafarge to the state at large with the purpose of making the roads safer for the citizens. The road is intended to divert trucks away from a nearby city centre once it is completed.

China: China National Building Materials has submitted a letter of intent of cooperation to its subsidiary Sinoma International Engineering, in which it proposes the sale of several engineering businesses to the latter. ET Net News has reported that the assets in question are under negotiation, but may include Beijing Triumph Building Materials, Nanjing Triumph International Engineering and Sinoma Mining Construction.

India: LafargeHolcim subsidiary ACC’s profit in the first nine months of 2020 was US$130m, down by 13% year-on-year from US$149m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales also dropped, by 17% to US$1.31bn from US$1.58bn. Cement sales totalled US$1.24bn from US$1.45bn. An 18% decline in expenses to US$1.14m from US$1.39m failed to offset the effects of a price drop in the first half of 2020 due to decreased demand.

India: Motilal Oswal Securities predicts that Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement’s second-quarter profit is likely to rise by 100% year-on-year in the 2021 financial year, which began on 1 April 2020, to US$161m from US$80.5m in the second quarter of the 2020 financial year. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the analysts expect an increase in sales of 3.5% to US$1.36bn from US$1.31bn, an increase in cement volumes of 3.9% to 19.4Mt from 18.7Mt, a price drop and a fall in costs in the quarter, which ended on 30 September 2020. The analysts added that cement makers may show volume growth in the seasonally weak quarter due to pent-up demand as the economy has reopened following coronavirus-related disruption.

Global Cement apologies to UltraTech Cement for the previous version of this article that wrongly suggested that the company had made the forecast

India: BK Birla Group subsidiary Mangalam Cement has launched Mangalam ProMaxX, a premium fly ash Portland pozzolana cement (PPC) that it says boasts “high one-day strength and also high 28-day ultimate strength.” The company says that the new cement is “an environmentally-friendly alternative with all the performance abilities of Mangalam Cement’s Birla Uttam cement.”

India: JK Cement has increased the capacity of its Katni wall putty plant in Madhya Pradesh to 700,000t/yr from 400,000t/yr. Projects Today News has reported that the putty consists mainly of JK Cement white cement. The company now has a wall putty production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr.

Kenya: Nairobi Business Ventures has shared plans for the establishment of a 1.0Mt/yr-capacity integrated cement plant following its 84% acquisition by UAE-based Delta International Holdings. Arab Finance News has reported that the former footwear producer is in the process of selecting a location for its upcoming plant and securing a source of clinker imports for the plant’s preliminary grinding-only phase.

Delta International Holdings is the owner of real estate company Delta Holdings Kenya, Shreeji Chemicals Kenya and Shreeji Glass Uganda.

Egypt: South Valley Cement’s first-half sales were US$12.5m in 2020, down by 21% year-on-year from US$15.9m in the first half of 2019. Arab Finance News has reported that the company’s net loss fell by 31% to US$4.45m from US$6.43m. South Valley Cement was last profitable in 2018, when it recorded a full-year net profit of US$0.65m.