Quarry Products

World demand for primary asphalt, which is refined from crude petroleum or mined from naturally occurring sources, is projected to rise 3.6% a year to 2017 from a weak 2012 base to 121 million tonnes/year (734 million barrels), according to the ‘World Asphalt’ market report by Freedonia.

The value of Algerian cement imports were up 30.11% to US$283.9 million in H1 2014 compared to the same period of 2013, reports the country’s customs authority. The imported quantity is estimated to weigh 3.09 million tonnes, compared to 2.44 million tonnes in H1 2013, an increase of 26.55%.

The World Concrete Forum has published its World Concrete 500 - a list of the top 500 players on Twitter from the international cement and concrete industry. French cement giant Lafarge (@LafargeGroup) takes the number one spot, with Colombia’s Cementos Argos (@Cementos_Argos) achieving second place. “Congratulations to Lafarge on heading the first listing of the World Concrete 500. Their work has been outstanding in recent months,” said Martin Clarke, director of the World Concrete Forum.

Cemex will secure unconditional European Union antitrust approval for its planned acquisition of Swiss peer Holcim's Spanish units, Reuters reports a person familiar with the matter saying. The European Commission, the EU executive, voiced objections to the deal last month, another source had told Reuters, increasing pressure on Cemex to offer concessions to allay its concerns.

Lafarge and Holcim have taken a further step towards their planned merger of equals to create LafargeHolcim, which it is said will be the most advanced and innovative group in the building materials industry. A Divestment Committee was set up by both companies, following the announcement of the planned merger on 7 April, with the aim of taking forward the divestment process. It has drawn up a list of proposed asset disposals to anticipate potential competition authorities’ requirements.

Italiam cement firm Buzzi Unicem has transferred its plant located in Cadola to a subsidiary of Austrian company Wietersdorfer (W&P Cementi). Under the transfer agreement Wietersdorfer also has the option to acquire, within five years, Buzzi Unicem’s Travesio, Italy cement plant for around €22 million.

Nigeria has reportedly become the country with the largest cement capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa at 28.3 million tonnes/year, with the country's demand for cement expected to reach 35 million tonnes/year by 2020. Meanwhile, Ethiopia, Angola, Senegal and Ghana now have annual cement capacity of 12.6 million, 8 million, 6.5 million and 6.7 million tonnes respectively.

A sharp rise in financing costs is said to be behind Italcementi's turnover decline of 6% to €2.048.4 billion in H1 2014. The running Ebitda improved by 2.2% to €304.8 million helped by a 6.2% reduction in the amortisation and depreciation charge, while the trading profit improved by 27.7% to €99.8 million.

The 66.5% hike in financing costs, largely related to interest rate derivatives and derivatives on CO2 hedging, is said to have led to a net financial charge of €75.1 million. After contribution fro