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PPC seeks higher offer from Fairfax 18 September 2017
South Africa: PPC is seeking a higher offer from Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings that has made a bid to buy a stake in it. The cement producer said in a document to shareholders that it anticipated that Fairfax would make a higher bid given ‘the lower offer price on the table’. The Canadian financial company offered US$154m to buy a portion of PPC with the condition that it also merge with AfriSam. PPC also confirmed that it had received a non-binding communication from Nigeria’s Dangote Cement to buy it.
Intercem to supply ball mill to Cem’In’Eu 18 September 2017
France: Intercem has won an order to supply Cem’In’Eu with a cement grinding plant. Intercem will supply a Ø 3.20m x 10.00m EGL closed circuit ball mill with a IVS 62 vertical air separator. The groundbreaking ceremony for the unit will be held in October 2017 and the start of production is scheduled for April 2018.
The first compartment of the mill will be equipped with lifting liners to aid coarse grinding. The second compartment will be equipped with a three-step classifying liner system to provide ball sorting with a fine grinding action. An intermediate diaphragm will allow the adjustment of material flow levels to optimise material level in both compartments. The mill will be powered by a 1300kW side drive. Product collection will be arranged by direct separation using a 70,000m3/hr air jet filter.
Intercem will be responsible for plant engineering and documentation, including mechanical, civil and electrical engineering, programming works and documentation, mechanical assembly works and their supervision as well as mechanical and process commissioning and the training for operators. No value for the order has been disclosed.
Cem’In’Eu is a new cement producer with projects planned for sites at Tonneins in Lot et Garonne, at Port Fluvial de Chalon-sur-Saône in Saône et Loire and at Port d’Ottmarsheim in Haut-Rhin. The company plans to invest around Euro20m at each site. It also has development projects in Poland and in the UK.
US: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering making changes to the regulations managing coal combustion residuals (CCR), or coal ash, as non-hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The agency has granted two petitions to look at the existing rules.
“In light of the EPA’s new statutory authority, it is important that we give the existing rule a hard look and consider improvements that may help states tailor their permit programs to the needs of their states, in a way that provides greater regulatory certainty, while also ensuring that human health and the environment remain protected,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
The current regulations took effect in late 2015 and manage how coal ash generated from electric utilities and independent power producers is managed and disposed of in surface impoundments and landfills. The rule also defines what constitutes beneficial use of CCR and, therefore, is excluded from the rule’s requirements. Coal ash is used in a variety of industries including cement production.
Cimpor grows sales in first half of 2017 on back of Portuguese recovery 15 September 2017
Portugal: Cimpor’s sales rose by 2.6% to Euro921m in the first half of 2017 from Euro897m in the same period in 2016. Recovery in the Portuguese market buoyed its sales despite continued issues in Brazil, Egypt and Mozambique. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2.6% to Euro166m from Euro170m due to non-recurring costs. However, the cement producer said that, excluding these its earnings would have remained stable and would have even risen by 4% if CO2 permits management had been disregarded. Its cement sales volumes fell by 2.7% to 11.5Mt from 11.8Mt.
Dangote Cement confirms talks with PPC 15 September 2017
South Africa: Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has confirmed its interest in bidding for PPC. The company said that its board of directors had communicated to the board of PPC but that the dialogue was at a preliminary stage. The offer follows offers by Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings with AfriSam and other unnamed bids.