US: The attorney’s office of Harris County in Texas filed a lawsuit against Sesco for alleged public safety and environmental violations following multiple complaints to the Harris County Pollution Control Board about dust. Piles of debris in an outdoor area of Sesco’s Houston cement terminal may have caused high dust levels in and around the facility and high pH levels in water located nearby. Houston Business Journal conjectured that the stockpiles might consist of surplus cement being stored unlawfully. Sesco stands accused of operating two silos and three hoppers without proper environmental clearance. Inspections in 2019 uncovered set cement in storm drains at the facility.
Holcim US invests in CCS study at Portland cement plant
US: Holcim US’s 1.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Colorado has become the latest site to host a large-scale cement plant carbon capture and storage (CCS) study. Holcim US, in partnership withCanada-based Svante, France-based Total and US-based Occidental subsidiary Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, will install a facility designed to capture 0.73Mt/yr of CO2, which Occidental will take for safe storage underground. The study will assess the financial viability and design requirements of such an installation on a permanent basis.
Shahrood Cement Company exports 0.2Mt in nine months
Iran: Shahrood Cement Company, which operates a 1.9Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Shahrood in north-eastern Iran, produced over 0.2Mt of cement over the nine month period ending 21 December 2019. Semnan province Industry, Mine and Trade Organisation chair Behrouz Asvadi said that all of the cement produced by the company was exported to countries on the Caspian Sea as well as to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Revenue over the period was US$5.06m. The company is meeting to discuss issues in shipping and crediting.
Argentina’s 2019 cement sales fall by 6.1% year-on-year to 11.1Mt
Argentina: The total volume of Argentine cement sold in 2019 was 11.1Mt – down by 6.1% year-on-year from 11.8Mt in 2018. The year’s economic recession and currency devaluation hit December’s sales especially hard, with just 0.74Mt sold, of which 0.11Mt was exported. Esmerk Latin American News has reported that Argentina was self-sufficient for cement in 2019, with no imports throughout the year.
