Quarry Products

Increased sales of cement, aggregates and ready mixed concrete have helped Heidelberg Cement to record a 12.6% rise in turnover in the third quarter of this year. The company has recorded sales of €3.4billion, up from €3billion in the same period last year.

Europe's railways rely on high quality aggregate to maintain both line speeds and passenger comfort. ABE reports on the technical aspects of railway ballast

Poland’s Dolnoslaskie Surowce Skalne has announced that it has acquired an 85% stake in sand and aggregate producer Kieleckie Kopalnie Surowcow Mineralnych (KKSM). Financial details of the deal have not been released and the takeover still needs approval by Poland’s Office of Consumer and Competition Protection (UOKiK). Nonetheless, Surowce Skalne has guaranteed to maintain staff numbers for at least 60 months and will not re-sell the business within the next two years.

Lafarge is seeking to gain special authorisation to access 6million tonnes of aggregate reserves at its quarry in Moisson-Freneuse, France. The material falls within a nature protection zone but the company is trying to get the protection lifted despite the move already being blocked by the Environment Ministry and the local authorities in the Yvelines department of France.

Concrete recovery specialist Clamens is considering launching energy labels for all of its concrete products. The company specialises in recycling construction materials and produces concrete products through the reuse of concrete sludges collected and reprocessed to produce carbon-free concrete. The company currently only operates in the Paris region of France but the operation has been successful since its launch in June this year.

Construction of a new railway siding and junction at Cemex’s Dove Holes Quarry in Derbyshire, UK will increase rail capacity by 25% to 2.5million tonnes per year. The new 100m siding removes a bottleneck at the site and allows two trains to enter, exit or be loaded at the same time. Around 60% of aggregates produced at Dove Holes are transported by rail so the new investment will allow Cemex to remove more trucks from the road.

Baselcement-Pikalevo has announced that it has started to extract limestone from a new quarry near Leningrad in Russia. The new site at Zapadny will produce more than 800,000 tonnes of limestone a year when in full operation following opening of the second phase in 2011. The €10.6million investment will help the company meet demand for limestone from its alumina oxide facility. Baselcement is also working on developing a new quarry at Vostochny which would add 25million tonnes of limestone reserves.

Cement exports from Russia are expected to grow to 4million tonnes per year following removal of export duties there. Duty rates were previously at 6.5% but analysts have warned that the increased market may result in higher domestic prices.

Construction of a new precast concrete panel plant for Essentium in Spain could get underway before the end of the year. The Spain-based company has said that it is to invest €2.5million in the new facility at La Moral de Langreo which will take 12 months to complete.