Global Cement News

Russia: Eurocement Group’s exports rose by 67% year-on-year to 0.33Mt in the first seven months of 2020 from 0.20Mt in the same period in 2019. Deliveries to the Belarus, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Kazakhstan have grown significantly. The group says it managed this despite coronavirus-related lockdowns with construction project suspensions in many markets.

Portugal: Cimpor has won a contract to supply cement for a new 80km railway line linking Elvas to Évora. It expects to delivery up to 0.14Mt of cement for the project, according to the Dinheiro Vivo newspaper. Cement will be supplied from its Alhandra integrated plant and ready-mixed concrete from other sites. The project is expected to be completed in early 2023.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton says its sites in Victoria can continue to operate during coronavirus-related lockdown measures that have been implemented until mid-September 2020. It said it would work with its customers, “to assess their requirements for construction materials and modify production levels in response to demand.” The company operates a jointly-owned cement grinding plant in Melbourne as well as concrete and aggregate units in the state.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement is starting large-scale recycling of large lithium-ion batteries at its integrated Tsuruga plant. It has been developing the process with Matsuda Sangyo since 2011 using exhaust gases from clinker production as part of dismantling, crushing and sorting processes to extract precious metals from the batteries. Taiheiyo Cement, its subsidiary Tsuruga Cement and Matsuda Sangyo started a recycling business in April 2020 following certification by the Japan Auto Recycling Partnership (JARP).

Austria: RHI Magnesita’s revenue from its cement and lime market fell by 12.1% year-on-year to Euro160m in the first half of 2020 from Euro182m in the same period of 2019. It said that the segment performed well in the first quarter of 2020 as producers maintained and repaired plants. Second quarter performance was negatively affected by coronavirus, “with a sharp contraction in demand in key end-markets, leading to reduced production and some temporary closures of cement plants in certain regions.” The group forecasts that its cement and lime segment will continue to follow the trend of the second quarter of 2020 although government stimulus projects, especially for infrastructure projects, may improve the situation.