Global Cement News

Japan: A proposal by Mitsubishi Group on researching CO₂ injection into concrete has been approved for a grant from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). This joint project between Mitsubishi Group, Kajima Corporation, and Chugoku Electric Power aims to improve the existing technology so that it can be applied to the reinforced and cast-in-place concretes used in building construction. At present the group said that current carbon-recycling techniques are mainly used for unreinforced concretes, such as concrete blocks.

Mitsubishi Group has already been involved in the development of concrete projects that take advantage of carbon-recycling, including a zero-emission concrete called CO₂-SUICOM. It added that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies, including carbon-recycling, are an excellent opportunity for the company to use its strengths between industries that both emit and use CO₂.

India: JK Cement’s grey cement sales fell by around 20% year-on-year in the first quarter of its financial year to 30 June 2020. They have recovered gradually since coronavirus-related lockdowns eased. White cement sales have recovered slower and dropped by 50% in the first quarter. The cement producer temporarily suspended operations at its plants in five states in late March 2020. Operations resumed in late April 2020 in a phased manner. The company added that its capital and financial resources remained “entirely protected in spite of adverse impact on its sales.”

Colombia: Cement production fell by 20.8% year-on-year to 4.88Mt in the first half of 2020 from 6.17Mt in the same period in 2019. Data from DANE, the Colombian statistics organisation, shows that local despatches fell at a similar rate. Production in June 2020 dropped by 4.7% year-on-year to 0.98Mt from 1.03Mt in June 2019. Local cement production hit a low in April 2020 when the government imposed coronavirus-related lockdowns.

Argentina: Cement despatches fell by 30.6% year-on-year to 3.83Mt in the first half of 2020 from 5.51Mt in the same period in 2019. Data from the Asociación de Fabricantes de Cemento Portland (AFCP) shows that monthly despatches from the local market, exports and imports hit a low of 0.41Mt in April 2020, a 55% year-on-year drop, before starting to recover. Despatches were 0.80Mt in June 2020m , a 7% decline from 0.86Mt in June 2019. Local consumption has fallen by a similar proportion.

Nigeria: BUA Cement’s revenue grew by 12.7% year-on-year to US$261m in the first half of 2020 from US$232m in the same period of 2019. Its profit after tax rose by 13.7% to US$89.8m from US$78.9m. In comments reported by the Daily Independent newspaper, Yusuf Binji, the managing director of BUA Cement said that, “In a bid to further drive cost efficiencies and sustainability, we entered into strategic alliances for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Kalambaina, Sokoto State and the management of our mining operations.”

The cement producer has a production capacity of 8Mt/yr. It plans to increase this to 11Mt/yr when it commissions a new 3Mt/yr plant in Sokoto State in 2021.