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Yunnan Phosphate Chemical Group (YPC) is using more than 40 Volvo construction machines to drive its mineral operations in China. A beautiful mountain area in the far south-west of China, Yunnan shares borders with Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, and not only does it boast the largest variety of plant life in the country, it has the biggest reserves of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin in China, as well as major reserves of copper and nickel. YPC is the largest producer of highly-concentrated phosphate fertiliser i

An aggregates production comminution circuit is only as efficient as the weakest link in the chain, and in many cases the majority of the links along this chain are screens. They perform a sizing and separation function at three crucial stages of the process: taking the raw run-of-quarry mixture and preparing it for crushing or washing; separating these products into the final, saleable product, and removing water from products to allow efficient transportation.

The French financial markets authority (AMF) has approved the simplified tender offer from Italian cement group Italcementi for French construction materials group Ciments Français.
Currently, Italcementi holds 29,997,248 Ciments Français (CF) shares, representing 84.48% of the capital and 91.38% of the voting rights. The Italian firm is committed to acquiring the remaining 5,510,801 shares in CF that it does not already hold (15.52% of the capital and 8.62% of the voting rights) at a unit price of €79.50.

India's Adhunik Cement has been accused of operating a plant in Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya since 2008 without ever receiving clearance from the Ministry of Forests and Environment, causing significant environmental damage in the process. The Civil Society Women's Organisation (CSWO) has officially reported its concerns over the 1.5million tonnes/year facility, which includes a captive 20mW power plant, stating it has not closed despite a report by a Ministry-appointed scientist made in 2013.
The CSWO has ca

Mexico’s Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and the Government of Nuevo Leon have highlighted the efforts implemented by Cemex to reduce gas emissions and bolster the use of alternative fuels.
As part of the Mexico Greenhouse Gases Programme (GEI Mexico), Cemex has received the GEI-2 award, with its plants in Guadalajara and Tepeaca granted the GEI-3 award. Gas emissions at the latter have been lowered by around 233,000tonnes, whereas Cemex has cut CO2 emissions at its Guadal

A total of CAD 350 million (€235.36 million) will be invested by Quebec into a limestone deposit to be developed by Canada's McInnis Cement in Port-Daniel-Gascon, Quebec's Economy Minister Jacques Daoust has confirmed.

The commitment by the provincial government for the CAD 1.1 billion plant in the Gaspe region was announced in January 2014 by former Parti Quebecois Premier Pauline Marois and will consist of CAD 100 milloion equity contribution and CAD 250 million lending from Investissement Quebec.

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For the second time in three years, Track Tec of Poland has won a tender to supply concrete sleepers to Tramwaje Warszawskie, the tram company in the capital Warsaw.

The 5,436 pre-stressed concrete sleepers in the current deal are to be entirely supplied in 2014.

Mexican cement company Cemex has revealed that it aims to swap US$55 million (€40 million) worth of Cemex bonds, due to expire in 2015, for 5.5 million American Depositary Shares (ADS). However, it is still unknown when this operation will proceed. Remaining bonds of $320 million will remain in circulation.

Cemex debt expiring in 2015 reached MXN 1.21 billion (€69 million/$93.7 million) at the close of March 2014.

Jamshed Naval Cooper has been named chief operating officer of HeidelbergCement India (HCIL).

Cooper was formerly director (sales and marketing) for the company.

HCIL's holding company, Cementrum of the Netherlands, is aids to be seeking to name Cooper as the company managing director (MD), taking over from outgoing MD and CEO Ashish Guha from 1 July 2014, once the HCIL's board approves the appointment.

Lafarge Wapco, the Nigerian subsidiary of French cement producer Lafarge is planning to raise NGN 100 billion (€446.74 million) by issuing debts or shares in local and overseas markets.

The company will ask for shareholders to approve the fund raising in July 2014. Lafarge earlier announced plans to merge Lafarge Wapco with its South Africa unit to create Lafarge Africa, an entity worth €988 million, and approval of shareholders is needed.

If the merger is successful, Lafarge Wapco's market capitalisa

Italian investment holding Italmobiliare has decreased its stake in Italcementi, the Italian building materials producers, from 60.262%, retained since April 2009, to 44.32%.

The reduction is the effect of the compulsory conversion of Italcementi savings shares into ordinary ones as part of the rationalisation of the group's control chain.

Holcim US has plans to invest US$100 million (€74 million) in a modernisation of its Ada, Oklahoma cement plant.

The company, one of the largest suppliers of portland, blended cements and related mineral components in the United States, submitted an application for a permit to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to begin upgrading its sites in Ada between October and December 2014.

The modernisation will increase the plant’s capacity in Ada by about 20%.

Finnish construction and infrastructure company Lemminkäinen has concluded its employer-employee negotiations and is cutting a maximum of 265 man-years in Finland.

The initially announced need for reductions was about 500 man-years, and half of this in Finland.

The company will give notice to some employees, and temporarily lay off some. Also pension arrangements and discontinuation of fixed-term contracts will be used, as well as other voluntary reductions.

The Spanish concrete structures producer Prephor, which manufactures products for the electricity and telecom sectors mainly, is to make 27 redundant at its 54-strong factory in Villamuriel de Cerrato (Palencia).

The plan has been opposed by trade unions which decided not to sign the project.

In Romania, the top three largest cement producers HeidelbergCement (Germany), Lafarge (France) and Holcim (Switzerland) are reported as recording a total turnover of almost €522 million in 2013, down 11% from 2012, and a profit margin of below 10%.

Carpatcement Holding, the local subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, registered a net profit of €14.4 million in 2013, down 58% from 2012, and a profit margin of 8.8%.

Lafarge Ciment recorded a net profit of €10 million, down 37% from 2012, and a profit margi

China's Jidong Cement has received shareholders' approval to transfer 100 millionn shares in Shaanxi Qinling Cement Group (Qinling Cement) to China Renewable Resources Development (China Renewable) at a price of CNY 2.75 (€0.32) per share.

As of 31 March, 2014, Jidong Cement held 185 million shares in Qinling Cement, accounting for 28.05% of the total shares. After the recent transaction, Jidong Cement will no longer be the controlling shareholder in Qinling Cement. Qinling Cement's main business will ch

Cemex's plant in Lloseta, which had been on the verge of being closed, is now looking towards an optimistic future.

Since 2006, investment in the plant has been €6 million, with one of the most recent additions being a 25,000tonne capacity silo for clinker that will be opened in September 2014 and that cost €4.5 million.

The plant's production has dropped over the duration of the crisis years, from 800,000tonnes per year pre-crisis to the current 350,000tonnes. A decrease in cement demand over the pa

Hardox, which is owned by SSAB, a name that has become “synonymous with world-class durability and quality in the world of steel,” is celebrating 40 years.

For SSAB, Hardox is one of the company’s most successful products ever.

SSAB’s aim was to develop a wear plate that was both hard and tough when it produced Hardox 40 years ago. It needed to be hard to be able to withstand severe wear and tear over a long period of time and tough to be able to handle bending and intense use without cracking.

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In 2013 Swiss cement and construction materials producer Holcim's Slovakian subsidiary, Holcim Slovensko, made a loss of €22.03 million compared to a net profit of €9.26 million in 2012.

In 2013 its loss from economic activities fell markedly by nearly 59% on year to €15.63 million, while from financial activities it made a loss of €7.7 million compared to a profit of €16.08 million in 2012. Its EBITDA amounted to €10.22 million, while production represented €123.87 million, up by 36.5% on year.

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Solutions for Tier 4 Final emissions regulations have been coming thick and fast, with many companies showing off their engine options of DOC, DPF and SCR aftertreatments. Some companies, including Caterpillar and Volvo Construction Equipment, have announced their strategies for meeting the needs of customers in lesser regulated countries selling and purchasing used Tier 4 Interim products for operation in such countries, where prevailing fuel quality and fuel sulphur content vary widely.