Global Cement News

US: Eagle Materials Inc, has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bullskin Stone & Lime, an aggregates business located in Western Pennsylvania. The business serves the Pittsburgh and broader Western Pennsylvania markets. The purchase price is US$152.5m, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close by mid-February 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Haack, President and CEO, said “The acquisition of Bullskin Stone & Lime further advances Eagle’s long-term growth strategy by adding a pure-play aggregates business that complements and extends our network of aggregates quarries and cement plants and terminals in the region.”

France: Lafarge France, part of Holcim, will deploy the technology of the Swiss start-up Neustark on its Gennevilliers site. This means that around 1000t/yr of CO2 could be sequestered into recycled concrete.

Neustark’s principle consists of injecting the liquefied CO2 into recycled gravel. The gas then reacts with the calcium present and forms calcium carbonate crystals. It is thus transformed and can be stored indefinitely. Neustark has already deployed its technology at 22 sites in Europe, mainly in Switzerland and Germany.

The Gennevilliers plant already receives demolition concrete and transforms it into recycled aggregates used in ready-mix concrete gravel and road sub-bases. The site, which produces 80,000t/yr of recycled materials, will be able to transform around 1000t/yr of CO2, as Neustark's technology can store 10kg of CO2 per tonne of recycled demolished concrete.

India: Ambuja Cements, an Adani Group company, has commissioned and started power transmission from its 200MW solar power project at Khavda, Gujarat. The remaining 806MW capacity from the country-wide project is at various stages of commissioning. 156 MW of wind power from Khavda and a further 300MW solar power plant in Rajasthan are expected to be commissioned in phases by March 2025. The remaining 350MW of solar power is expected to be commissioned by June 2025.

Ajay Kapur, Adani Group CEO - Cement Business, said the company is committed to achieve net zero emission by 2050, adding "We aim to power 60% of our total energy consumption from green power sources by the 2028 fiscal year.”

Kazakhstan: Martin Engineering has announced fresh expansion in Central Asia with a new business unit in Kazakhstan. Based in the country’s largest city and commercial centre, Almaty, in southeastern Kazakhstan, the new venture will act as a regional hub, enabling the company to bring its full range of products and services to the fast-growing mining sector across Central Asia.

The new business will be led by General Manager Oleg Glukhov, who has worked with Martin Engineering for the past seven years. He says Martin is well placed to support Kazakhstan’s leading minerals processing firms to improve operational performance and safety.

Türkiye: Oyak Cement will invest US$4.59m to increase fuel supply capacity at its Adana plant. The producer will add 180,000t/yr of processing capacity to the existing 36,000t/yr refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production capacity, raising the total to 216,000t/yr. It will also establish a biomass facility with a capacity of 180,000t/yr. The RDF will be prepared at a disposal fuel facility for use in the cement plant.