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Italcementi has disclosed that it has supplied 18,000tonnes of cement as part of the operation to right the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship. The supplied cement consisted of the firm's Ultracem, Termocem and Plastocem products, chosen especially for their individual properties following extensive tests in Italcementi laboratories. The cement has been used to create an underwater support for the ship during the recovery process. It will be removed once the wreck has been salvaged.

Quarrying and construction materials business Hanson UK has launched the second round of its biennial biodiversity research competition the Quarry Life Award.

The competition, which is run by Hanson’s parent company HeidelbergCement in 21 countries, offers university academics and students the chance to win up to £35,000 (€41,400) by finding new ideas for the conservation and promotion of species diversity in quarries.

Universities are being invited to submit potential projects based around five topic

Turkish cement producer, Akcansa, is going to provide ready-mixed concrete for the construction of Istanbul's third bridge on the Bosporus.

For the major works, the company has set up five ready-mixed concrete facilities and two ice units within two months.

The total investment, including the facilities to be built on North Marmara motorway, is expected to amount to €5.61 million (TRY 15 million). The new bridge will be 330m high and will be made of highly durable cement. Akcansa generated €208.14 mil

HeidelbergCement is planning to raise its annual output in India by three times from 5.4 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes in next three to four years, according the company's CEO, Ashish Guha.

The world renowned German firm said it intends to acquire plants with at least 3 million tonnes of annual output to increase capacity, rather than investing €981.65 million (INR 82 billion) to expand using greenfield method.

China's Jiangsu province increased its bulk cement production by 14.81% in H1 2013 to 70.69 million tonnes, accounting for 12.18% of the country's total. The province’s production levels are third highest among provinces nationally. The two highest producers, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, contributed 19.23% and 18.15% respectively to China's total bulk cement production during the first half of 2013.

Bumi Suria Ventures and Blast Power have sealed a quarry and supply deal in Malaysia. The deal gives Blast Power the exclusive rights to sell and remove products manufactured from the rock materials extracted from a quarry owned by Bumi Suria Ventures. Bumi Suria Ventures operates a stone quarry in Sarawak state and has a licence dating back to 22 November 2010 to process, remove, sell and extract rock materials from the quarry for five years. TH Plantations is the parent firm of Bumi Suria Ventures.

HeidelbergCement’s 2011-2012 Sustainability Report entitled Foundations highlights topics and challenges for the company in its drive for sustainable development. The report looks at the successes and aims of enterprise sustainability management, as well as the company’s activities in the arena of environmental and climate protection, workplace safety and social responsibility.

Cemex has supplied approximately 140,000m³ of a variety of specialty concretes for a modern new tram line in Zaragoza, Spain. Line 1 of the tram is 12.8km long and crosses the city from its southernmost end to the north, passing through the city centre. It was opened to the public recently, and in June, 2013 plans were announced to open a second line in 2015.

Hanson UK’s 2013 Performance and Sustainability Report shows many on-going positive achievements in the company’s sustainability performance against a backdrop of falling production volumes and a tough operating climate.

The hike in Estonia’s environmental taxes, such as the tax on the extraction of mineral resources, should be in compliance with the inflation hike, says Meelis Einstein, chairman of the board of the Association of Construction Material Producers of Estonia.

Irish firm Cement Roadstone Holding (CRH), owner of the Spanish cement company Cementos Lemona, is making 35 staff redundant at Prefabricados Lemona's plants in the towns of Lemona (Bizkaia) and Castropepe (Zamora).
Trade union ELA has criticised this move, highlighting the €600 million annual profits posted by CRH in the last two years.

Lynch Plant Hire says its first Family Plant Show and Operator Open Day at Bridgwater in County Somerset, Englandm, was a success, being attended by some 3,000 and raising a total of £2,000 (€2,400) was raised for the construction industry charity, The Lighthouse Club.

Italian construction equipment and machinery company CIFA, which focuses on offering a complete range of products in the concrete business, has celebrated its 85th birthday at its headquarters at Senago. The ceremony was held in the presence of all the company’s senior management including the CEO of CIFA Davide Cipolla and the president of Zoomlion Zhan Chunxin. It included the presentation of a historical museum and

Masonry products manufacturer, Lignacite, has announced a 40% increase in sales of its masonry block products since the start of 2013, and in July alone the company sold a record 180,000m² of blocks, enough to build more than 1,800 houses. Lignacite manufacturers masonry products which incorporate a range of recycled and waste materials, including glass, wood particles, furnace ash, recycled concrete, china clay and shells. According to Lignacite’s chairman, Giles de Lotbiniere, there are a number of reason

A global meeting on responsible mine closure is to be held within the world heritage mining landscape of County Cornwall, south-west England at the Eden Project, itself a former quarry, from 18-20 September, 2013.
The International Mine Closure Conference 2013 will focus on how to improve the environmental and social outcomes when mining operations cease. The conference series, which is in its eighth year, has attracted a wealth of industry experts from around the world presenting research findings and sh

McCloskey International’s TF80 tracked feeder has new features to enhance and streamline the process of stockpiling of materials. Full remote control on all functions is now available, and this allows operators to track and run the machine without getting out of the loader, facilitating the handling and stockpiling of a variety of materials, such wood waste, bark, compost and top soil, all of which are directly fed into the hopper with large loaders and excavators.

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has invented a new method to separate ashes from burnt wastewater sludge and use it for concrete production. DTU has patented a method for electrodialytic separation of secondary raw materials. It is now hoping to enter into cooperation with the construction sector to use the wastewater sludge ashes, that have been purified from phosphorus and heavy metals, as a replacement for cement in concrete production. This could make it possible to market such concrete as a g

Eriez has acquired UK-based Centriforce, a recognised leading provider of advanced coolant filtration systems to the European metalworking industry. The Centriforce product portfolio will be integrated into the Eriez HydroFlow line of fluid recycling and filtration equipment. “The acquisition of Centriforce supports Eriez’s goal of designing, developing and marketing the most technologically advanced fluid filtration and fluid management systems to the worldwide market,” says Charlie Ingram, Eriez vice pres

Cement factories in Carboneras and Gador, Spain, which up until now have been owned by Swiss cement firm Holcim, will be majority owned by Cemex when it takes over 75% of their capital. The agreement will also see Holcim paying Cemex €70million in cash as part of the deal which is interconnected with operations in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Rare Indian red granite is being extracted from four granite quarries across 24 hectares of land in the south Indian villages of Purthagere and Kadur. According to legend, Ilkal granite (also known as Cat’s Eye granite) was first discovered 2,000 years ago, but remained a little known rarity for two millennia.

This all changed in 1983 when rich deposits were discovered in a small corner of south-west India, allowing Ilkal granite to be exploited for its beauty and decorative worth.