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Hargreaves has made history by becoming the first mining project in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to invest in a total solution from the newly extended Caterpillar mining range. The seven year US$94.02million (£60mn) deal with Finning Equipment Solutions includes four new Cat 6030 hydraulic excavators and 19 777 Off Highway trucks, delivered earlier this year to the new Hargreaves’ Surface Mining Division for use at the Tower Colliery open cast mine site in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales.

A total of more than 17,000 visitors attended Hillhead 2012 compared with 15,500 in 2010. Throughout the three days of the show they experienced more live demonstrations and new plant and equipment than ever before, presented by a record 459 exhibitors. The organisers said they would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who contributed towards making the event such a success for the industry. Dates for Hillhead 2014 will be announced shortly.

Eternit used its cement fibre roofing tiles in the renovation of the Jules Lacote social housing complex in Genouillac, central France. Around 1,575m² of roofing was replaced with the material in two months. The tiles are said to be guaranteed for 15 years and are highly resistant to bad weather. The Pommay line is also said to provide customers with the opportunity to personalise their roofing tiles with different colours and gradations.

The Brazilian industrial group Camargo Correa is poised to control 86% of the stock of the Portuguese cement group Cimpor following the closure of the public offering period. The group presently controls 65% of Cimpor stock, but the stake will increase to 86% if it is successful in an attempt to acquire Votorantim’s stock.

Concrete Batching Systems has taken a “huge step forward” thanks to landing a £500,000 contract in Abu Dhabi. The deal will see the Northern Ireland-based specialists in the design, manufacture and installation of turnkey concrete batching plants and mixing systems supply two complete and fully automatic batching systems to a major precast concrete product manufacturer in the Emirate.

Keestrack is introducing the new green electric alternative for its Explorer range of classifiers, ECO-drive.
“This is not to ride on the ‘green’ wave. It has a lot of added value for the environment but also on the cost efficiency of the machine,” says president Kees Hoogendoorn. The Explorer 1500 and 1800, both available as three and four-split classifiers, are now also available in the ECO-drive version.
The electrical driven machine can run autonomously by the diesel engine which generates the electri

Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment’s range of attachments for excavators has been extended with a new line of heavy-duty buckets and quick couplers manufactured in Europe. Intended for all markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa, they are available in a variety of sizes and are approved for use on Doosan excavators from 14-70 tonnes.
“With the introduction of the new Doosan bucket and quick coupler range, customers benefit from an extended one-stop-shop approach for carriers, attachments and parts f

Angle Park Sand and Gravel Company upheld a long-standing association operating Volvo-branded products by buying the latest G series L120 wheeled loader for its extraction operations at Melville Gates Pit, Fife, Scotland.
The family-run concern supplies quality sand and aggregates to the construction industry throughout Fife, and operates at three closely located sites around Ladybank together with a bagging plant. Celebrating its 50th year in business last year, the company bought Volvo Construction Equip

Ten years ago, the UK produced 222 million tonnes of primary aggregates, and last year that figure was 33.3% down at 148 million tonnes. Interestingly, production of recycled materials stayed exactly the same at 60 million tonnes, which meant that the drop in total production was also exactly one-third from 2001 to 2011 (282 million tonnes down to 208 million tonnes).
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar and silica sand

nvestment in new equipment has led to an increase in productivity at an aggregates quarry in Cyprus Asignificant investment in new equipment has resulted in increased productivity say the operators of the largest aggregates quarry in Cyprus. The 40hectare quarry is situated beside the Stavrovouni Monastery, located on the mountain peak of the same name, near the villages of Kornos and Pyrga. It was initiated in 1960 and bought by Skyra Lima Public 14 years later.
Skyra Lima was taken over by the Iacovou Gr

Safer by Partnership is the Mineral Products Association’s (MPA) latest ‘Safer by... initiative for members and their contractors to work more closely together to reduce contractor injuries and the incidence of ill health; and ultimately achieve the target of Zero Harm. Nigel Jackson, chief executive MPA, said: “MPA members need to be able to demonstrate contractors’ and sub-contractors’ competence with the same degree of rigour as if the contractors were directly employed. It is in recognition of the key

Finning UK and Ireland has completed an exclusive agreement with Sleipner of Finland to distribute and support its transport systems for heavy mining and quarrying equipment. The agreement covers the whole of the UK and Ireland, stemming from the first successful introduction of the product by Finning in late 2011. Commonly known by enthusiasts as ‘skates’ for tracked excavators, the Sleipner system is designed to dramatically reduce maintenance cost for heavy loading equipment.
It is said to allow custom

Andy Dix, managing director of Charcon Construction Solutions, has been elected president of the British Precast Concrete Federation, the trade body for concrete products in the UK. He takes over for the period 2012-14 succeeding Steve Parker, managing director of Buchan Concrete Solutions. Dix started his career in mechanical engineering, joining Marshalls in 1982. Having worked in commercial, sales, production and finance roles he became managing director of its subsidiary companies in 1994.
He is chai

Lafarge has presented 34 new sustainable development ambitions for 2020 saying it has entered a new phase in its sustainability commitment. Sustainability Ambitions 2020 says the new ambitions are organised around the three main pillars of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental, and they are coupled with demanding quantitative targets. “Sustainability Ambitions 2020 is the continuation of our 2007-12 programme, at the end of which we had achieved our key commitment of reducing net co2 e

The Powerscreen dealer for Mongolia, Wagner Asia Equipment has held an official launch event in Ulaanbaatar showcasing solutions for the Mongolian Road and Construction Industry. The two-day event in the capital included seminars, discussion groups and a working demonstration of Powerscreen equipment and other product lines offered by Wagner Asia. Allen Smith, Powerscreen mining development manager, said: “2012 is a crucial time for Mongolia as the country now needs to build large tunnels, bridges and const

Holcim says that its 2011 Corporate Sustainable Development Report shows that the group is on track to achieve its sustainability targets. The self-imposed targets for reducing dust and NOx emissions have been met, and Holcim says it remains a leader in the industry with the lowest CO2 emissions per tonne of cement produced.
For CEO Bernard Fontana, sustainable development is very important, with the highest priority being occupational health and safety. “The safety of Holcim employees and the employees of

Cemex says that since 2005 it has invested more than US$ 175 million (€139 million) adjusting its production process and installing equipment to prepare, handle and feed alternative fuels into its cement kilns.
In 2011, CEMEX achieved approximately a 25% alternative fuel substitution rate in its cement production, and the alternative fuel strategy has enabled the company to avoid the use of close to 2 million tonnes of coal and the emission of 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The company s

Tower Light and DF Ecology, the Italian producers of environmentally focussed construction equipment, have appointed a new dealer for their range of machinery in South Africa.
Johannesburg-based, Pilot Crushtec has been given the responsibility to distribute a wide range of TowerLight and DF Ecology products throughout the region, including the VT8 and VT1 lighting towers and the Dust-fighter dust suppression units.
Dust pollution in pits, mines and on demolition sites, has long been a problem for the ind

Major Wire claims that its latest OptimumWire woven wire screening media offers up to 40% more wear life than tradition woven wire of the same diameter. OptimumWire is manufactured with a high carbon and high manganese content, which Major Wire claims provides more resistance to abrasion and better performance for aggregate screening operations worldwide. Its high ductility, hardness and tensile strength make it less susceptible to breaking in high impact conditions and with highly abrasive materials, and t

Two new machines are helping Fahey’s Concrete to get “maximum advantage” from its aggregate processing plant.
The company has introduced a Terex Finlay J-1175 jaw crusher and C-1540 RS cone crusher, delivered from Finlay Plant SW, at its Camelford site in the north of County Cornwall, south-west England.
Working with Gareth Johnson, managing director of Finlay Plant SW, Fahey Concrete chose the Terex Finlay J-1175, complete with an independent pre-screen, and a Terex Finlay C-1540 RS complete with pre-scr