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Two Cemex quarries at Rugeley in the UK and Soto Pajares in Spain have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to biodiversity at the European Aggregates Association (UEPG) awards in Brussels, Belgium.

Rugeley Quarry in Cannock Chase, West Midlands received a Recognition of Achievement for its significant restoration work and excellent habitat management activities while Soto Pajares Quarry in the Province of Madrid won the Special Award for Biodiversity for its outstanding actions related to

The Greek cement manufacturer Halips, part of the Italcementi group, has recently invested more than €13 million towards the development of a silo for the storage of raw materials and fuel, at its warehouse in Aspropirgos Attikis.

The UK’s Mineral Products Association (MPA) is calling on government to increase its efforts to overcome inertia in the planning system, in order to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregates which are essential to the construction industry and the economy.

This is the conclusion of MPA’s 2nd Annual Mineral Planning Survey (AMPS) for 2012, which highlights that the plan-led system is failing to provide local plans which identify where land for future extraction is located. This increases the ris

South-west England law firm, Stephens Scown LLP, solicitors acting for Wolf Minerals on the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mining project near the city of Plymouth, has agreed terms on the company’s behalf for the last remaining residential property purchase required under planning permissions granted to Wolf.

Sally Norcross Webb, client partner for Wolf Minerals, said: “We are delighted to have helped Wolf Minerals achieve this important milestone, which enables it to proceed to the development and productio

Holcim France is opening a new clinker grinding and slag plant at La Rochelle port. This will be the French arm of the Swiss construction materials firm’s third site in the north west of the country. The new plant will supply the regions of Poitou-Charentes, Limousin, Aquitaine and part of the Centre region. Holcim says the move will enable them to effectively support the construction and public works sectors, strengthen its local footprint and benefit from improved proximity to customers.

In her academic dissertation at the Finnish Aalto University, Johanna Tikkanen M.Sc. (Tech) has found that mineral powders can be used to replace a significant part of cement in concrete. This will bring both economic and environmental benefits, she argues.

French cement producer Ciments Français has posted turnover of €899 million for Q3 2013, down 1.5% year-on-year. At a constant exchange rate, turnover rose by 3.7%. Over a nine-month period, aggregate sales fell 1.6% to 23.1 million tonnes, while ready-mixed concrete sales rose 3.5% to 7.1 million m³, and cement and clinker sales declined by 3.4% to 28.6 million tonnes due to a fall in Egyptian activity. Since the start of 2013, Ciments Français registered consolidated turnover of €2.73 billion, down 3.4% y

Cement consumption in Russia is expected to grow to 69.5 million tonnes by the end of 2013.

And, within the overall figure, consumption in the Siberian federal district may reach 6.9 million tonnes.

Georg Kleger, president and CEO of Siberian Cement group, says the group's annual produce is about 5.5 million tonnes of cement. The group also produces some 400,000m³ of concrete per year. Siberian Concrete (part of Siberian Cement group) has eight plants of its own and rents another two. The plants are l

Mexican cement producer Cemex is planning to cut salaries at its six Spanish production plants by 25% in order to keen the plants open, according to trade unions CCOO and UGT.
Four plants are said to have already agreed to the move, but the plants in Alicante and Lloseta (Majorca) have rejected them. In total, the six plants have a workforce of 800 – with the two plants opposing the plan containing a combined 240 employees.
If the Alicante and Lloseta plants continue to snub the plan, CCOO and UGT claim C

Hanson Concrete has won the British Ready-Mixed Concrete Association’s (BRMCA) |Gold Medal for excellence in customer service for its supply to a rail viaduct repair project in County Yorkshire, northern England.

Contractor Story Rail had to repair two viaducts some 5km apart on the historic Settle to Carlisle railway line in the Ribble Valley between a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The concrete was delivered to a central point, pumped into rail-mounted mixers then transported over 1.5km down th

BASF has launched its launches the Master Builders Solutions brand in Russia, Turkey, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (for example Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) as well as Kazakhstan.

The company says the brand strengthens its industry orientation, standing for its “commitment to provide the whole construction industry with tailored products and solutions.”

Ambienthesis, the Italian provider of environmental remediation, waste management, engineering and building material services, reported a €1.9 million net loss in the first nine months of 2013, from €1.8 million net losses year-on-year.

Ebitda dropped to €1.3 million from €4.9 million, pre-tax profits were negative at €2.2 million from €1.4 million and revenues decreased to €46.2 million from €52.8 million. Moreover, the net worth was negative of €15.1 million from a negative one of €16.8 million in Sept

The struggling Austrian construction materials company Asamer has confirmed that its liabilities amount to around €400 million.

The company's administrator plans to divide Asamer into two entities. The current family owners of Asamer will retain the core activities in Austria, along with the firm's plants in Slovakia and Bosnia Herzegovina. This amounts to a total turnover of €200 million compared to Asamer's current overall turnover of €452 million.

Experts anticipate a 7% growth of the ready-mix concrete market in St Petersburg and the Leningrad region of Russia in 2013 compared with 15% in 2012.

The market, however, is expected to retain its structure, except that some small companies are likely to quit business. In Q1-Q3 2013, 4.6 million m³ of concrete was produced in the region (compare with 6 million m³ in 2012).

French concrete product manufacturer BIP Bétons has launched a new concrete block which is said to offer a high mechanical and thermal performance, baptised Bétotherm 105.

Made from volcanic rock, the block is available in two formats. The product meets Promotélec energy performance standards and offers a thermal resistance which meets NF Th regulations. Bétotherm 105 also meets Eurocode 8 earthquake resistance norms and is compatible with all types of insulation and exterior coatings.

The potential demand for aggregates for ballast, scour protection and concrete in the UK to deliver gravity bases for offshore wind farms has been increased since the release of Offshore Wind: A 2013 Supply Chain Health Check by BVG Associates for The Crown Estate.

In this report, elements in the supply chain are assessed and ultimately rated on a green, amber and red scale. The majority of the 22 elements are given a green rating. Tellingly, one of only three elements to be judged red is vessels for ins

Aircrete systems producer H+H International boosted turnover to DKK 376.50mn (€50.48 million) in the third-quarter of 2013 from DKK 349.9 million in the third-quarter of 2012.

EBITDA increased to DKK 41.8 million from DKK 38.5 million. EBIT improved to a profit of DKK 19 million in Q3 2013 from a loss of DKK 32.4 million in Q3 2012. Net result was a DKK 5.8 million profit compared with a loss of DKK 55.1 million in Q3 2012.

Egypt-based Suez Cement revealed its affiliate Helwan Cement Company has introduced a new filter system to lower dust emissions to up to 10mg per cubic metre.

According to Suez Cement, the level is well below the standards used in Egypt, as well as Europe. In a press release, Suez Cement said it planned to invest EGP 500 million (€53.77 million) to improving the environmental standards of its five plants across Egypt.

Spanish cement firm, Cementos Molins, generated a profit of €10.8 million during the first nine months of 2013, which represents a 65.5% decrease compared to the same period in 2012. This has been attributed to the economic crisis. Other figures show that turnover fell 9.7% to €621 million, with sales in Spain falling 10.5% and international sales dropping 9.6%. Cementos Molins saw its net debt fall €26 million to €289 million.

Italian cement manufacturer Italcementi has successfully converted its Crévéchamps quarry into a bird protection site, as part of a partnership with the French bird protection league LPO. The quarry, situated between Flavigny and Charmes, came to the end of its operating period in 2012-2013.