Quarry Products

In 2010, the net income of Ukraine’s Mikolaiv Cement, which belongs to France's Lafarge, dropped 8.3% year-on-year to €40.82 million. The volume of incomplete construction grew to nearly €17.6 million, and while the plant produced 851,900tonnes of cement worth nearly €37.9 million, its long-term liabilities grew by 24% to €6.2 million.

Enlargement of Rotterdam Harbour in the Netherlands will call for one of the largest marine aggregates extraction sites in Europe. Ad Stolk from the Netherlands' Rijkswaterstaat (Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management) reports

Marine aggregates form a vital source of sand for many construction markets in Europe, but in the Netherlands much of the material extracted is not used for concrete production. The Netherlands' current annual 42 million tonnes extraction is mainly used for coasta

Investing in new equipment and selective working has enabled Alves Ribeiro's quarry near Lisbon to remain profitable despite Portugal's ongoing recession. Claire Symes reports. High in the hills above the vibrant city of Lisbon is a quarry which is equally as vibrant, despite the current recession in Portugal. Alves Ribeiro's Moita da Ladra quarry has seen its output drop from 240,000tonnes in 2002 to 100,000tonnes this year but has still managed to remain profitable. According to Alves Ribeiro equipment di

Swiss cement and aggregates manufacturer Holcim is concentrating on organic growth in emerging markets, being currently active in 13 of the 15 most significant construction markets. Holcim believes that its international business enabled it to remain relatively resistant to the financial crisis, as 75% of its production capacity is in the emerging markets. The company is not active in Japan, due to over-capacity cement production there, meaning that the company would have to enter the market via a takeover.

Holcim has announced a 40 hectare extension of the limestone quarry (which covers 100 hectares today) at its Dannes cement factory in northern France. The unit, which employs 90 staff, produces 300,000tonnes of cement out of an installed capacity of 400,000tonnes. In 2011, the Swiss construction materials giant will invest €2.5 million in the factory, whose activities will be discontinued from mid-February to mid-March.

According to a report on global cement consumption in 160 countries from the International Cement Review, some 3.86 million tonnes of cement will be used in 2012. In 2008, cement use rose 2.4% to 2.83 million tonnes while 2009 saw a 5.9% increase to 2.99 million tonnes.

According to CMPro, in 2011 the Russian cement production may grow to 55 million tonnes. In the first quarter of 2011, the output totalled 8.5 million tonnes of cement: in 2010 the manufacturing reached 50.5 million tonnes.

Moscow-based Gras has launched a new plant producing Ytong cellular aerated concrete in the Saratov region of western Russia. The project investments totalled some RUB 2.4 billion (€58.67 million). The plant has been built using technology by Hess from the Netherlands; its capacity totals 500,000m³ a year and it employs 120 workers.