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Worker dies in freak accident in cement factory 12 May 2014
India: A worker was killed on 10 May 2014 while cleaning the belt of a crusher in Jaypee's cement plant in Chhijwar, Madhya Pradesh.
The incident took place when the worker, Gulab Patel, who was cleaning the crusher belt got trapped in the machine. The victim was rushed to Rewa's Sanjay Gandhi Hospital but he died on the way.
Patel's family have alleged that he was killed inside the plant and that the management failed to inform them about the incident. The family said that they came to know about the incident only through other workers. The plant management has agreed to pay compensation of US$16,753, provide a job to a family member and also provide free training to the son of the deceased.
India: Shree Cement is planning a 3Mt/yr limestone mining project at Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. The project is part of an integrated cement plant project. Mining work is expected to commence in December 2014.
Ukraine: Eurocement Ukraine finished 2013 with a loss of Euro1.31m, down from a profit of Euro2.32m in 2012. In 2013 the company saw its net revenue fall by 7.21% to Euro65.3m.
India: Indian cement companies are on the lookout for overseas mines to secure supplies of gypsum for cement production.
Domestic gypsum supplies are limited, which is forcing Indian cement makers to look to acquire gypsum mines in countries like Thailand, Oman and Iran. Indian cement producers are also looking into synthetic gypsum production.
The domestic gypsum deficit has led to increased dependence on imports and synthetic gypsum to meet cement demand. Manufacturing one tonne of cement requires 4 - 5% of gypsum as a raw material.
In India, gypsum reserves are found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. About 90% of the total Indian production of gypsum comes from western and north-western Rajasthan. At present, usable gypsum reserves in India amount to 140 - 150Mt, of which around 125Mt is available to the cement industry. These numbers are for Rajasthan and Gujarat, as reserves in other states are unusable. This supply will be enough to support the cement industry for seven or eight years.
Vinod Juneja, managing director of Binani Cement, said that the shortage of domestic gypsum has forced the company to consider the possibility of overseas mine acquisitions, but the high cost of such acquisitions is a deterrent. "We have looked at gypsum mines for acquisition in the Middle East, South Africa and Iran, but the prices are too high so it does not prove to be viable since the returns are not high," he said. "Gypsum is a very important raw material for cement production and we don't want to depend totally on imported gypsum," Juneja added.
Some others, like JK Cement, are yet to decide how to tackle the gypsum shortage. "Gypsum is in shortage and we are working out a solution for it," said Madhavkrishna Singhania, special executive at JK Cement. "There are two options; either we acquire a mine overseas or produce synthetic gypsum, so right now we are contemplating these options and in a year or two we will have to figure out what needs to be done," he added.
The most common solution to tackle the shortage is importing gypsum. However, imports attract a 2.5% duty, thus increasing costs for an industry that has also been facing other increased costs in an economic downturn. High transport, logistics and raw material costs have hit margins across the cement sector.
CRH expands business in Europe 08 May 2014
Ireland: Ireland's CRH expects earnings to rise in 2014 after revenues grew sharply in its struggling European business in the first four months of the year.
The company said that sales rose by 10% in Europe to the end of April 2014, driven by better weather conditions and improving underlying market conditions. In the US, cold weather hit early season activity, however, stronger housing activity and a strengthening economic background saw revenues rise by 2%.
"In Europe, the good start to the year in much more favourable weather conditions is encouraging. While we continue to expect second-half performance to be ahead of 2013, we believe that the strong year-to-date rate of organic growth is likely to moderate," said CRH.
The company said that it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the seasonally less significant first half of 2014 to rise to Euro500m from Euro400m in 2013. Earnings in the second-half of 2014 should be somewhat ahead of 2013. CRH also said that it had seen limited impact on trading to date from the political unrest in Ukraine, one of its main European markets, where cement sales volumes were up by 30%. However, the outlook remains uncertain.
After announcing a review of its portfolio in 2013, CRH said in February 2014 that it would sell 45 businesses representing 10% of net assets and would continue to keep a watch on other operations accounting for 20% of its assets. On 7 May 2014 CRH announced that it was assessing another selection of businesses that account for a further 10% of its net assets, where the returns potential was not yet clear. The review will be completed in the third quarter of 2014.