Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Lipetskcement has announced that its CEM-II sulphate-resistant cement has been found to conform to the new Russian standard for its class of products. This enables its use in special types of construction, including hydraulic engineering, land reclamation, transport infrastructure and oil and gas wells.

Spain: Following a partial easing of Spain’s coronavirus lockdown on 25 May 2020, LafargeHolcim España employees returning to the company’s Villaluenga de la Sagra cement plant in Toledo, Castile-La Mancha were surprised to discover that an Iberian lynx had moved in during the 2.4Mt/yr integrated plant’s 10-week suspension due to the coronavirus lockdown. Staff contacted the Castile-La Mancha Environmental Agency, which determined that the site was ‘not an ideal habitat’ for lynx due to the risk presented by vehicles inside and outside of the cement plant when operations resume. The Castile-La Mancha Environmental Agency has tweeted that it has released the one-year-old female cat at a secret location in the Montes de Toledo region, following a medical check-up and tagging.

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Kavkazcement has announced its acquisition of a Hitachi excavator for use at its clay quarry. The reasons behind the choice of excavator were its high productivity and low operating costs.

Kavkazcement director general Oleg Lopatin said, “The hydraulic excavator will develop clay reserves in areas complicated by large slopes, increasing the economic efficiency of raw material extraction and ensuring the stability of the final product. Kavkazcement systematically modernises all stages of production, which allows us to guarantee high quality and reliability of product deliveries to key construction sites in the south of Russia.”

US: CalPortland has awarded a supply contract to FLSmidth for a new raw mill at its integrated Mojave plant in California. The scope of supply includes engineering, equipment and installation of a new OK 48-4 Raw Mill with a Condition Monitoring System and an ECS/ProcessExpert system. The mill is scheduled to be in operation in late 2021. No value for the current order has been disclosed.

“The new OK Raw Mill from FLSmidth will increase reliability and efficiency at our Mojave plant," said Bruce E Shafer, Senior Vice President for Cement Operations at CalPortland. It follows the purchase of a FLSmidth OK Cement Mill at the same plant in 2004. FLSmidth added that as both OK mills at the plant will share the same gearbox design, the unit will be able to streamline maintenance and manage inventory costs by sharing the one spare FLSmidth MAAG WPU-200 assembly.