Global Cement News

Guatemala: Cemex has completed production and bagging line upgrades its Arizona cement grinding plant in the Port of San José. The project cost US$3.7m and it included the completion of a second bagging line, changes in lift capacity and the installation of new mill controls, according to the Prensa Libre newspaper. The upgrades are expected to increase the plant’s production capacity by about 10% to 545,000t/yr and to speed up bagging by 46% to 96t/hr.

Zimbabwe: China’s Livetouch Investments has started production at its 0.4Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Redcliff. Managing director and co-shareholder Dongning Wang said that the US$30m plant had started operation at 70% of its capacity, according to the Herald Business newspaper. The plant is expected to employ 200 workers once it is fully operational. The company markets its cement under the Diamond Masonry brand.

Although some work remains on the first phase of the project the second phase will see the construction of a clinker producing plant at the same site. The company is negotiating at present with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for access to limestone deposits. Work on the second phase is expected to start six to nine months after the mineral rights are secured.

Morocco: LafargeHolcim has inaugurated a new Construction Development Lab (CDL) in Casablanca. The CDL will be dedicated to the Moroccan and African construction markets and it will help the group develop construction solutions for the markets it serves. The laboratory is LafargeHolcim’s eighth laboratory in the world after those in Algeria, Argentina, China, France, India, Malaysia and Mexico. The 4000m² facility will house 50 engineers, architects and technicians and marketers. LafargeHolcim’s central research and development site is based in Lyon, France.

The new CDL will also aim to develop partnerships with start-ups, universities and other higher education institutions to promote research and development, test new ideas and reinforce relationships with building and infrastructure construction experts. It will organise specialised training for clients, influencers, product applicators and builders to enable them to use innovative solutions in their projects.

Pakistan: Loesche has released details on its order to supply three grinding plants for DG Khan Cement for a new 9000t/day clinker production line at Hub in Balochistan. The contract, which was originally signed in September 2015, includes one 654t/hr raw meal, one 445t/hr Ordinary Portland Cement mill with a COPE drive and a 66t/hr coal mill. Loesche says that the raw mill with a nominal capacity of 1050t/hr will be the biggest raw material mill in the world. Loesche is responsible for the full mechanical equipment and together with Loesche Automation for the electrical engineering package along with all hardware supply from steel structure to electrical equipment and automation.

Colombia: Cemex Latam, the Latin American subsidiary of Cemex, intends to operate its Maceo cement plant project in Antioquia at a reduced capacity due to difficulties with its environmental clearance. The cement producer will continue building the 0.95Mt/yr plant but it will reduce its output to 0.25Mt/yr once it is operational, according to Reuters. The Colombian cement producer attempted to reverse the annulment of its environmental permits with the local body in late 2016.

In September 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members in relation to the Maceo project and its subsidiary’s chief executive resigned. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20.5m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights, and benefits of the tax free zone for the project.