Global Cement News

Nigeria: A court in Lagos has found that it has jurisdiction to hear a suit filed by Strategic Consultancy against the sale of an 84% stake in Lafarge Africa by Holcim to Huaxin Cement. Lafarge Africa submitted the unsuccessful challenge to the court’s jurisdiction. This Day News has reported that the court also ordered the joinder of Netherlands-based Caricement and UK-based Associated International Cements as defendants.

Strategic Consultancy alleges that the sale bypassed minority shareholders, in violation of Nigerian law. Proceedings will continue on 11 June 2025.

Denmark: Cementir Holding subsidiary Aalborg Portland Cement has awarded Christian Pfeiffer an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the installation of a QDK-T 250-Z high-efficiency separator for Cement Mills 8 and 9 at its Rørdal plant. The equipment will integrate both mills into a shared separator system, in order to increase their total capacity and facilitate the production of new cements. The upgrade also includes the installation of a single replacement bucket elevator, two air slides with integrated flow impact meters and a bag filter system. Commissioning is scheduled for 2026.

Christian Pfeiffer’s Product Line Manager Cement, Juan Camilo Vanegas Aguirre, said “This was the first EPC offer jointly prepared by our team in Chennai, and reaching this agreement after two years of collaboration is a real achievement.”

US: Heidelberg Materials North America is upgrading its Cementon cement distribution terminal in New York. The producer will build a new packaging line with a 200t/hr Haver & Boecker rotary packing machine and a fully-automated Beumer palletising system. It will also expand its cement storage silos in order to support the growth of its bulk cement sales.

Tunisia: Les Ciments de Bizerte recorded a 69% year-on-year fall in sales to US$9.2m in 2024, down from US$30.3m in 2023, amid a complete halt to clinker production.

The company published its financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2024, revealing production costs of US$7.6m and a record high net loss of US$14.9m, up from a US$11.3m deficit in 2023. It purchased 114,128t of clinker to attempt to supply the market, but failed to meet demand due to the production halt.

India: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched five carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) testbeds in the cement sector, forming a research and innovation cluster to help accelerate industrial decarbonisation. The five testbeds are collaborative industrial pilot projects between Indian research institutions and local cement manufacturers under a public-private partnership model.  The testbeds aim to help India reach carbon neutrality by 2070.

Each testbed targets a specific CCU approach. Testbed 1, in partnership with JK Cement in Ballabhgarh, will be a pilot plant capable of capturing 2t/day of CO₂ and converting it into lightweight blocks and olefins through oxygen calcination. Testbed 2, by IIT Kanpur and JSW Cement, will explore CO₂ mineralisation. Testbed-3, with IIT Bombay and Dalmia Cement, will develop catalyst-based capture at a cement plant. Testbed-4, by CSIR-IIP, IIT Tirupati, IISc and JSW Cement, will use vacuum swing adsorption technology. Testbed-5, with IIT Madras, BITS Pilani Goa and UltraTech Cement, will focus on carbon-lowering process innovations.