Quarry Products

Rope Access has won a contract for inspection and scanning of Stockholm’s Norra Länken's concrete tunnel, part of a major road project. Norra Länken (North Link) in the Swedish capital is one of the largest road projects in the country.

In the first half of 2011, the net profit cement company Iskitimcement, Russia, a unit of the RATM holding company, totalled €773,353.44 as against a €4.21 million loss in the first half of 2010. The profit before tax amounted to RUB 73.14 million [€1.76 million] as against a RUB 186.32 million [€4.49 million] loss in the same period in 2010.

In 2011, the Granit enterprise, based in the Brest region of Belarus, will equip its fifth production line, and its capacity will hit 3.9 million tonnes tons of non-metallic materials per year and 3 million tonnes of crushed granite per year. About 1 million tonnes of products, including fines of 4-16mm, will be exported, and investment will reach €36.43 million.

French company Fabemi has launched Vertitherm, an insulating concrete block for use in the supporting walls of individual houses or small apartment buildings. According to the company, Vertitherm includes cell insulation to achieve RT 2012 energy performances for low-energy use buildings and “is easy to install.”

The newly formed Bulgarian Association of Producers of Inert Materials looks set to become the latest member of the European Aggregates Association. Bulgaria is one of the most recent countries to join the European Union with accession in 2007 and has benefitted from closer relations with other countries within the region. Now its aggregates association is also planning to give its members a more pan-European outlook through its application to join the European Aggregates Association (UEPG).

Further negotiations with the Ministry has left the Spanish subsidiary of the French construction materials manufacturer confident of opening the Romeu quarry, in the Sagunto region, at some stage in 2012. Expanding its operations to new markets throughout the world, launching new products and investing in building new installations, are three other priorities for Lafarge Cementos over the next 12 months.

SPC predict producers will have made 18.2-18.3million tonnes of cement in 2011, up from the record-breaking 16.95million tonnes in 2008. SPC also believe 2012 levels will be similar to those of 2011. Initially, the cement output for 2011 was expected to reach only 16.5-17million tonnes, but thanks to the large number of road investments, the forecast has risen.