Canada: St Mary’s Cement plans to apply for a licence to substitute alternative fuel (AF) for a part of its coal, gas and petcoke fuel mix. The plant previously held a two-week AF substitution trial in May 2011. CBC News has reported that the subsidiary of Votorantim Cimentos will present its plan at an evening meeting for the general public on 18 November 2021. The company says that it plans to implement similar AF arrangements to those at its Bowmanville plant, where it uses 90,000t/yr of biomass, wood from construction and demolition and non-recyclable paper and plastics.

Environmental manager Ruben Plaza said "Lower CO₂ emissions is the first consideration and, equally as important, the material has to be approved and available in sufficient quantities with a reliable and sustainable long-term supply."

Spain: Spain’s 10-month cement consumption was 12.5Mt in 2021, up by 12% year-on-year from 10-month 2020 levels. Interempresas News has reported that consumption grew by 10% year-on-year in October 2021 to 1.3Mt from 1.18Mt. During the month, exports fell by 14% year-on-year to 581,000t from 485,000t.

Colombia: Cementos Argos says that it uses simulation software for logistics at six of its port operations. The company explained that simulation helps to avoid delays in the rotation of resources and to optimise ships’ capacity.

International commercial advisor Alfonso Andrés Ibarra said “The simulator facilitates the decision-making process when delivering our material, since it allows us to evaluate different scenarios in advance to define the best alternative for loading the shipments. This way, time and costs are reduced, and our supply chain is optimised.”

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has secured an agreement with Hyogo Prefecture for the future reception and processing of the prefecture’s waste from disasters such as earthquakes. The company says that the agreement will facilitate the rapid reception of such materials and to best support clean-up efforts.

President Hironori Morohashi said “We will continue to strengthen our cooperative relationship with Hyogo Prefecture and work to form a sustainable society and develop and improve the region.”