India: Loesche has provided an update on the operation of a slag grinding mill it sold to Sri Balaha Chemicals in 2016. The LM 35.2 +2 S cement mill was supplied in 2016 and installed and commissioned by March 2017 at the customer’s site in Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh. The mill produces 50t/hr of granulated ground blast furnace slag (GGBFS) at 4000cm²/g Blaine. Subsequently the mill has achieved a production rate of 52t/hr and a specific power consumption rate as low as 27.2kWhr/t.
US slag cement shipments grow by 14% in 2017
US: The Slag Cement Association (SCA) says that slag cement shipments in 2017 grew by 14 year-on-year. This follows a growth of 12% to 2.7Mt in 2016. The SCA says this shows increasing demand for slag cement in the US.
“As consumers are becoming more aware of the variety of benefits and applications associated with slag cement use in construction, they also start to rely on its consistency,” said Ed Griffith, president of the SCA. “The reliability of the product seems to go over well with the industry, it’s nice to see the shipping trends reflect this industry awareness.”
Asia Cement buys Halla Cement's slag grinding plants
South Korea: Baring Private Equity Asia has sold Halla Cement to Asia Cement for US$723m. The combined business will be the third largest cement player in Korea, with a combined market share of 19%.
Baring Private Equity Asia bought Lafarge Halla Cement from LafargeHolcim in 2016. It took full control of the cement producer in 2017. It was then reported to be shortlisting potential buyers for the company in September 2017.
Halla Cement operates one cement plant at Okgye and three slag cement grinding plants. It has a cement production capacity of 7.6Mt/yr. It also runs 11 distribution centres in the country, consisting of seven coastal and four inland centres.
State minster inaugurates JSW Cement’s Salboni slag grinding plant
India: Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, has inaugurated JSW Cement’s plant at Salboni. The US$125m grinding plant has a production capacity of 2.4Mt/yr, according to the Press Trust of India. It started commercial production at the site in July 2017 with plans to manufacture Portland Slag Cement. The cement producer is already preparing upgrades at the unit including a US$15.6m captive power plant with a capacity of 18MW and a US$47m production capacity increase of 1.2Mt/yr.
