Global Cement News

India: Around 1500 villagers have protested against a cement plant that Ramco Cement plans to build in the Jaipur district of Odisha. The protestors have expressed fears that the plant will damage their crops, according to the Pioneer newspaper. A representative of the local government said that the project has already received environmental clearance.

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak's (CMS) sales from its cement division have fallen in 2017 due to lower sales volumes of cement and concrete. However, the cement producer said that the average production cost per tonne of cement had fallen due to cheaper coal prices and cheaper imported clinker. Its sales revenue fell by 7.5% year-on-year to US$133m in 2017 from US$144m in 2016. Its operating profit fell by 3.5% to US$25.9m from US$26.8m. The division also benefitted from the opening of the Mambong grinding plant in late 2016.

Morocco: Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (TKIS) has won a contract from LafargeHolcim, to supply a new 3500t/day cement plant in Morocco. The project will cover the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the new plant. The line will be built in the Souss Massa region near Tidsi. Start-up of the plant is scheduled for the first half of 2020.

TKIS will provide engineering, procurement and construction for the entire clinker production line, ranging from raw material preparation to clinker storage, and a grinding facility for solid fuels. The main components include a 1000t/hr primary crusher, a longitudinal additives storage facility, a circular stockpile with a storage capacity of 12,000t, a Quadropol QMR² roller mill with an output of 290t/hr and a blending silo of 4600t. The kiln system consists of a five-stage, single-string polysius preheating tower, a two-pier rotary kiln and a
Polytrack clinker cooler. The line is completed by a ball mill for solid combustibles and a clinker stock with a total storage capacity of up to 65000t.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has supported an infrastructure study by the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF). It liked how the study highlighted the importance of life cycle cost analysis and competition in paving. “If federal and state decision makers took this report as a playbook, America would see tremendous taxpayer cost savings and stronger infrastructure built to last long into the future,” said PCA President and chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Ireland.

Mozambique: President Filipe Nyusi has inaugurated Limak Cement’s 0.7Mt/yr plant in Matola. Nyusi said he expected the plant to ‘contribute to stabilising prices in a scenario of high levels of demand for cement,’ according to the Mozambique News Agency. The unit will employ over 140 people.