Global Cement News

India: The Supreme Court has been informed that the government is considering a ban on the use of petcoke by various industries. Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, representing the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, told the court that a decision on the matter could be made within one month, according to the New Indian Express newspaper.

At present it is unclear whether the cement industry would be affected. However, if it was included in the ban, this potentially could be a problem for Shree Cement, which uses 100% petcoke in its fuels mix, according to India Infoline News Service. Additionally, UltraTech Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement and Mangalam Cement have petcoke usages in the range of 75 - 85% and would also be negatively affected.

India: Dalmia Bharat has sought intervention by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in the insolvency proceedings of Binani Cement. It argues that the lenders’ reported move to allow owner Binani Industries to seek an out of court settlement violates CVC guidelines and circumvents the dedicated insolvency process, according to the Economic Times newspaper.

A consortium led by Dalmia Bharat won an auction for Binani Cement with a bid of US$974m in early March 2018. However, UltraTech Cement then made a direct bid to Binani Cement a few weeks later. In a letter to the CVC Dalmia Bharat alleged that UltraTech Cement’s direct offer was a revised bid in an auction that forbade them.

India: Wonder Cement has ordered two vertical mills from Germany’s Gebr. Pfeiffer for its Nardana plant in Rajasthan. The order includes a MVR 6000 C-6 mill for grinding slag cement and a MPS 3070 BK mill for grinding fuel. Delivery is scheduled for early 2019 and mid-2019 respectively.

The MVR mill will feature a total drive power of 5820kW. Mixed cements will be be ground to a fineness of up to 5% R 45µm. The grinding plant will be designed to process granulated blast-furnace slag with a target fineness of approximately 4500 cm²/g Blaine and blast-furnace cements with different proportions of granulated blast-furnace slag, fly ash and gypsum and different product fineness degree. Wonder Cement has requested the option to grind relatively hot clinker in the mill while at the same time being able to reduce the cement temperature, and alternatively to use cold clinker from stockpiles.

The core components such as the tension system and the grinding rollers will come from Gebr. Pfeiffer in Germany. The grinding bowl and the gearboxes for the mill and classifier will also be delivered from Europe. Gebr. Pfeiffer’s subsidiary, Gebr. Pfeiffer India, will provide the housing parts, the foundation parts and supports of the rollers as well as almost the entire high-efficiency classifier type SLS 5600 BC. Gebr. Pfeiffer India scope of supply will incorporate most of the equipment to complete the grinding plant including the plant fan.

The MPS mill will grind petcoke with a capacity of 40t/hr to a product fineness of 2% R 90µm. It will come with a SLS BK classifier, allowing both coal and petcoke to be ground in the mill, dried with process gases and then classified in the integrated classifier. Due to the high abrasiveness of Indian coal, the mill will be designed with appropriate wear protection.

Most components of the coal mill will be supplied by Gebr. Pfeiffer India. The housing and foundation parts, the grinding bowl and a large part of the power-transmitting parts will be manufactured in India. Setting up the new MPS mill is planned to coincide with the commissioning of the entire kin line.

Vietnam: Fico Tay Ninh Cement (Tafico) plans to start building a new production line at its plant Tan Hoa, Tan Chau District in mid-April 2018. The US$212m project will have a clinker production capacity of 4000t/day, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa’s sales rose by 36% year-on-year to US$835m in 2017 from US$613m in 2016. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly doubled to US$161m from US$81m. Michel Puchercos, the chief executive officer of Lafarge Africa, attributed the strong margins in its Nigerian business to cost initiatives and higher prices. He added that the company’s increased use of alternative fuels and coal to offset gas shortages in the west of Nigeria and a focus on coal and gas in the east and north of the country aided market share.

However, the cement producer reported a ‘challenging’ business environment in South Africa, where operations are expected to ‘stabilise’ in 2018. Its Lichtenburg cement plant returned to normal operations during the course of the year and a turnaround plan was initiated in order to transform the company’s operations.