News

Komatsu, the world’s second-biggest maker of construction and mining equipment, said its profit was almost unchanged in the three months to 31 December 2015.

Slowing economic growth in China and the collapse of commodity prices extended the Japanese giant’s slide in sales to mining companies and builders.

Net income was US$320 million (38.6 billion yen) for Q3 fiscal 2016, compared with 38.5 billion yen a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a regulatory statement. Sales fell 3.2% to 478 bill

Martin Riley, former managing director of Tarmac’s Aggregates and Asphalt business, has been appointed senior vice president of Tarmac. Cyrille Ragoucy, chief executive, has left the business after three years in the role.

Key findings are that while total supply exceeds demand, generally consumption of fly ash has increased from 50% since the turn of the century, climbing to 70% of total production in 2014. Meanwhile, consumption of furnace bottom ash is nearly 100% of what is produced annually.

The UK aggregates industry achieved a much better replenishment rate on reserves in 2015 than in previous years.
Around 90% of sand and gravel and crushed rock extracted last year was replaced with consents for new reserves. This conclusion follows an analysis by BDS Marketing Research of planning applications and consents that the consultancy monitors on a daily basis.
“The industry cannot afford to be complacent. In the previous year, the industry replenished less than half the volumes extracted. Over t

Semen Tonasa builds a new cement packing plant. Cement maker Semen Tonasa of Indonesia is developing a cement packing facility in East Timor. The development of the plant is taken as the company aims to expand its export volume. It aims to export 400,000tonnes of cement in 2016.

According to Dhep Vongvanich, SCG's country executive director, Vietnam, a cement factory will be set up by the company in Vietnam.

Dhep said the company has yet to announce the date., and it is still examining if the factory would be set up on its own or through a joint venture.

SCG would still carry on with plans to set up an integrated petro-chemical complex in the country.

Sino-Hydro and Power China Company are interested in implementing various projects in Pakistan.

Among them are a red line transport project; a K-4 water project; cement plant and a 600MW coal-based power plant, valued at more than US$4 billion (€3.7 billion).

The cement plant project is currently at the final phase.

The companies have also applied for installation of the coal-based power plant at Port Qasim.

AMD Group Investment (AMD) has received in-principle approval from the Thanh Hoa People's Committee in Vietnam to mine stone at Loang Mountain, Yen Dinh District of Thanh Hoa Province, north central coast region. The company is set to supply non-refined brick and stone for building materials under an agreement signed with FLC Group. The stone mining project will span 8.7 hectares. AMD is a Vietnam-based company with interests in equipment trading, high-tech investment, eco-tourism and preschool education.

Jaiprakash Associates in India has received four bids for the sale of its stand-alone cement business, which has a capacity of over 20 million tonnes/year and is expected to be valued at about INR 200 billion (€2.74 billion/US$2.96 billion).
It is reported that three of the bidders have been named as UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Bharat Cement, and US private equity company KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts).
The sale does not include the 2.2 million tonnes/year Bhilai plant (a joint venture with the Steel Author