Global Cement News

India: Germany-based Gebr. Pfeiffer and its subsidiary Gebr. Pfeiffer (India) say they have received a follow-up order from Ultratech Cement for additional mills for new clinker production lines at its Kotputli plant in Madhya Pradesh and its Maihar plant in Rajasthan.

At the Kotputli plant it is planning to supply a MVR 5000 R-4 type mill to grind raw material. This mill can grind approximately 740t/hr to a product fineness of 1.0 % R 212µm with a 4800kW drive. At the Maihar plant a MVR 6000 R-6 type mill will also be supplied to grind raw material. In addition, several MPS 3550 BK type mills will be provided to grind fuel. These mills can grind approximately 45t/hr of pet coke, 90t/hr of coal, or any blend of the two materials. These are equipped with a 1300kW gearbox.

The plant design and the entire customer support will be handled by Gebr. Pfeiffer (India). The core components, such as gearboxes, grinding bowls, the grinding roller suspension system and the grinding rollers, will be supplied from Europe by Gebr. Pfeiffer. The remaining components, such as the foundation parts, the housings, the classifiers and most of the plant components will be provided by Gebr. Pfeiffer (India).

Germany: Zementwerk Lübeck is reportedly only operating its grinding plant at night and at the weekend due to high electricity prices. Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) reports that the cement producer has also been forced to suspend production at times. However, government support is expected to help the plant to continue operation into 2023. NDR also reports that 80% of industrial plants in Schleswig-Holstein are threatened by energy costs. Zementwerk Lübeck operates a 0.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Lübeck.

India: RHI Magnesita has agreed to buy the India-based refractory business of Dalmia Bharat Refractories (DBR). The acquisition will take place via a share swap agreement in exchange for 27m shares in RHI Magnesita India. The Austria-based refractory manufacturer hopes to grow its presence in the Indian market and benefit from market synergies. DBR employs approximately 1200 people in India. It has a production capacity of over 300,000t/yr of refractory and operates five refractory plants and raw material sites. The acquisition will add production capacities in industrial regions in the south and west of India where RHI Magnesita currently has no assets. No completion date for the transaction has been disclosed.

Stefan Borgas, the chief executive officer of RHI Magnesita, said, “We see material financial and operational benefits from the addition of the Dalmia Bharat Refractories business to our existing network, which will enable us to increasingly serve our customers with a ‘local for local’ approach in India and offer a broader range of products, in particular in the Industrial segment, in which RHI Magnesita is currently under-represented. This transaction demonstrates our ability to continue to grow our business in India where the outlook for the refractory industry is strong, at a time when demand in other geographies is weakening.”

Tajikistan: The Tajik parliament has ratified an agreement for the construction of a 1.8Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Qubodiyon in Khatlon Province. ASIPLU News has reported that the government signed an agreement with Orien Invest for the plant's construction on 7 September 2022. Orien Invest said that it hopes to attract US$160m-worth of foreign investment in the project. When commissioned, the Qubodiyon cement plant will be Tajikistan's largest and create 1300 new jobs locally.

During the first nine months of 2022, Tajikistan produced 3.2Mt of cement, down by 0.7% year-on-year from nine-month 2021 volumes. Full-year production was 4.2Mt in 2021, in line with the two previous years.

UK: Hanson has announced a 'carbon capture breakthrough' in its use of recycled concrete paste (RCP) in the wet scrubber of its Ribblesdale cement plant in Lancashire. In under 30 minutes, 15t of RCP was able to capture 1.5t of CO₂ from the plant's flue emissions. Carbonated RCP is suitable to replace limestone in cement production.

Hanson's sustainability director Marian Garfield said “The trial was carried out with our parent company Heidelberg Materials’ research and development team, and marks another important milestone in our carbon capture journey."