News

In the period between January 2014 and September 2014, Suez Cement recorded an annual decline of 14% in net profits from EGP 425.60 million (€47.57 million/US$59.50 million) to EGP 363.80 million.

According to the company, the decline was due to fuel shortages. Suez Cement is one of the largest cement producers in Egypt, with an output capacity of 4 million tonnes/year.

Lucky Cement in Pakistan reported a 5% year-on-year growth in net profit for the quarter to September 2014, reaching PKR 2.55 billion (€19.84 million/US$24.82 million) with earnings per share of PKR 8.62.

Revenue was up 12% to PKR 10.47 billion, but gross margin dropped three percentage points to 42%. Sale volumes and prices were higher than in the year-ago period at +6% to 1.61 million tonnes and +8% to PKR 525 per bag respectively, but lower than in the preceding quarter or forecasts for the current pe

To increase its production capacity by another 1.5 million tonnes, Taiwan Cement's Hong Kong-listed unit TCC International Holdings will set up a new production line in China's Guizhou.
The new production line will be added within November

The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) of Andhra Pradesh in India has approved INR 92 billion (€1.20 billion/US$1.50 billion) of proposals by UltraTech Cement and Ramco Cements for greenfield cement plants in the state.

These will employ a combined 4,000 people and produce 12 million tonnes of cement a year.

UltraTech will set up a unit in Petnikota, Kurnool district, and another in Dachepalli, Guntur district, while Ramco will build its facility in Kolimigundla, Kurnool.

The Vaasa Energy Institute in Finland is planning ways to utilise and store asphalt heat.
The plan is to dig horizontal pipes under parking lots and motorways to collect heat in summer and to store it for the winter in heat batteries, that is deep drilled wells.
This is more efficient than traditional ground-source heating.
According to the researchers, asphalt energy is renewable local energy and there are huge amounts of it to be utilised.
The research has been funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for

Following a meeting with local inhabitants, the management of Lafarge Aggregates' Marmagne quarry have said that they will carry out works to prevent trucks speeding on the Camuzeaux access route.
The management intends to put in place a one-way system, as well as to install safety barriers close to homes and narrow the road.
These works should take place at the start of 2015. During this meeting, Lafarge also presented the actions which it carries out to preserve the environment.

The 2014 EIG Scholarship Award was presented to Kieran Blacker for his extractive industry research at a recent University of Leicester, England, geological society lecture.

The Extractive Industry Geology (EIG) award was presented by EIG organising committee secretary Clive Mitchell, and was made in recognition of Kieran’s excellent research, “understanding the degradation of stone by new mineral growth,” which he carried out while an undergraduate at the University of Liverpool.

This was the theme o

Cemex has revealed that it has received US$515 million of commitments from banks that have agreed to join the credit agreement entered into on 30 September, 2014.

Following the completion of customary closing conditions, the banks that provided the new commitments will accede the Credit Agreement as additional lenders, increasing the total amount of the Credit Agreement from $1.35 billion to $1.87 billion.

The incremental amount raised will be applied to partially prepay the Facilities Agreement date

For the third-quarter 2014, turnover for French industrial minerals specialist Imerys was up 2% to €943.80 million (US$1.18 billion), or up 3.9% on a constant perimeter and currency basis compared with the same period in 2013.
Net income was up 6.1% to €75.1 million.
In the third-quarter Western Europe accounted for 45% of sales, followed by North America (24%) and emerging countries (26%).
In terms of revenue by business group, energy solutions and specialities, filtration and performance additives and

Turkish cement producer Oyak Cimento Grubu's turnover in the first nine months of 2014 increased by 18% to TRY 1.10 billion (€396.77 million/US$500.31 million) while its net profit was up by 84% to TRY 335.6 million.

The group is expecting the sector to have a growth of 5% in 2015. This growth is due to infrastructure and urban renewal projects and the company is expecting the sector to grow by 6% in 2014.

Hope Construction Materials, a UK independent supplier of construction materials, has won the industry’s most prestigious health and safety award, the Mineral Products Association’s (MPA) John Crabbe Award.

The trophy, which was presented to Amit Bhatia, founder and Chairman of Hope Construction Materials, during a ceremony at the impressive 30 Euston Square venue London, is awarded for outstanding excellence in health and safety.

The news comes after Hope reached the milestone of 300 days without an

Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim recorded a turnover of CHF 14.24 billion (€11.81 billion US$14.77 billion) in the nine first months of 2014, down 4.7% from a year earlier.

On a comparable basis, turnover increased by 3.4%.

Cement volume sales increased by 1.6% thanks to increases in Asia, Oceania, North America, Africa and the Middle East.

The net profit reached CHF 1.16 billion, down 9%. The operating profit reached CHF 1.7 billion, up 2.8%. Excluding non-recurring factors, the operating profit d

The Mineral Products Association’s Health & Safety Conference and Awards 2014 took place at the new location of 30 Euston Square, London, bringing together over 70 organisations, including members, contractors and other key stakeholders from all over of the UK, to celebrate commitment, progress and achievement in health and safety and share best practice.

The theme was Reducing Harm through Leadership and Workforce Engagement.

Overall, the prestigious Awards attracted 150 entries from 37 different org