Displaying items by tag: Coal

Egypt: Chemical Industries Holding, a industrial chemical manufacturer, has formed a committee for a consultancy to study offering a mixture of coal and alternative fuels for National Cement. The committee will also consider the financial and technical aspects of supplying a cement mill for the cement producer.

Tanzania: Dangote Cement has signed two agreements that will enable its US$600m cement plant in Tanzania to generate 150MW from coal.

One agreement is with Tancoal. Dangote Cement has also signed a coal prospecting licence for a site in Mbinga. However, the plant will first run on diesel until it is able to generate its own electricity from coal.

The deals ends a year-long dispute between the government and the cement plant after Tanesco failed to provide electricity. The plant was considering importing coal from South Africa, which was a cheaper option than buying it from the area.

The cement plant is expected to reduce cement prices by 50% once production commences in early 2016. It will take advantage of the growing construction industry, which contributes 12.5% to the country's GDP. It will offer more than 1500 direct jobs and 9000 indirectly.

Egypt: Investments worth US$30bn in the coal industry are expected to be conducted within the next five years, according to Egypt's investment minister Ashraf Salman.

Salman said that there is 'full coordination' between the ministries of environment, electricity and investment to adhere to international environmental standards when using coal. Egypt's cabinet announced new rules on coal use in April 2015, which stipulate that coal imports can only take place after approval from the ministry of environment. The new rules are an amendment to a law on environmental affairs and allow the use of coal for cement, iron and steel, coke and aluminium production and in power plants.

Salman said that using coal as an energy source would decrease the dependency on natural gas as a primary energy source and petroleum products in steel and cement production. Despite the energy crisis, which has caused frequent and numerous power outages for years, the cabinet's approval of new coal use has caused controversy both within the government and outside.

Egypt: 90% of cement plants have agreed to use coal to increase their cement production, according to Egypt's Industrial Development Authority.

The authority is facilitating plant upgrades to enable coal use and ensuring that the necessary quantities of coal can be supplied, according to the head of the Industrial Development Authority, Ismail Gaber. He added that Egypt needs more than 32Mt/yr of cement to meet the needs of the domestic market.

In light of the population increase, the demand on energy has significantly increased in Egypt in recent years. The government agreed to include coal in the cement industry energy system in April 2014. Prior to that, coal was used only in the iron and steel, coke and aluminium industries. It is now also allowed to be used for electricity and cement production.

India: India's prime minister Narendra Modi has said that he will not bow to foreign pressure to commit to cuts in carbon emissions, instead pledging to use more clean energy and traditional methods to lead the fight against climate change.

India, the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has come under pressure to tackle its rapidly-rising emissions since the US and China committed in November 2014 to start cutting their own emissions after a 'peak year.'

"The world guides us on climate change and we follow them? The world sets the parameters and we follow them? It is not like that," said Modi. "We can lead the world." The Indian government has said that it needs to emit more to industrialise and lift millions out of poverty. While Modi has in the past highlighted the dangers posed by climate change, he has also argued that the world must focus more on clean energy and less on outright emission cuts.

India has set an ambitious target to raise renewable energy generation, but is also expanding the mining of coal, a major contributor to its growing emissions. Modi recently suggested using traditional methods such as switching off street lights on full-moon nights to save energy and cut emissions.

Modi has also accused the world of double standards by lecturing India about the environment, but refusing to sell it the fuel needed for nuclear power. Some countries maintain a ban on selling uranium to India because New Delhi has refused to ratify the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

India: Coal India (CIL) is likely to sign a major joint venture agreement with the India Railways to co-develop a number of railway projects to extract coal. CIL would provide the money, while India Railways would provide the labour force creating the infrastructure, including the tracks, sidings and related infrastructure.

The joint venture plan was conceived by Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who has been working hard to raise India Railways' share of coal transport and CIL chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya, who has previous experience of working on similar projects for the Krishnapatnam Rail Co. The deal is expected to be signed shortly. "The terms are being worked out. We will disclose when it is finalised," said Bhattacharya.

CIL has been looking at a comprehensive revenue-based partnership with India Railways in a bid to create mega infrastructure for which about 50 separate projects across the country have already been identified. Of immediate priority would be three specific projects, including a 90km stretch linking Tori-Shivpur-Kathautia connecting the North Karanpura mines in Jharkhand, Jharsuguda-Barpalli-Sardega in Odisha and Bhupdeopur-Raigarh-Mand in Chhattisgarh. CIL is likely to invest US$643m in these three projects.

The joint venture is expected to help CIL double its coal production from the current levels to 1Bnt by 2020.

Vietnam: Ha Tien 1 Cement Company is negotiating with Indonesian partners to import coal from Indonesia, according to the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI). Under the current laws, businesses must seek permission for the import of energy products.

Coal accounts for 40% of clinker and 32% of cement production costs. Ha Tien 1 is considering importing coal because the market price has fallen sharply with the drop in crude oil prices. Ha Tien 1 currently buys coal from Vinacomin at US$100/t. The coal price in Indonesia is US$52/t free on board (FOB).

If Ha Tien 1's proposal to import coal gets approval from the government, the cement manufacturer would cut production costs and be able to reduce sale prices and boost its sales. If Ha Tien 1 could import 25% of the total coal it needs for production, it would be able to reduce its production cost by 8%.

UK: Environment minister Mark H Durkan and Devendra Mody, industrial director at Lafarge Tarmac, have signed an agreement allowing the use of waste-derived fuels (WDF) at Lafarge Tarmac's cement plant in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The plant, which employs 86 people, currently uses coal for approximately 95% of its fuel. The agreement will see Lafarge Tarmac substitute up to 35% of its coal with WDF.

"The agreement will turn environment issues from barriers to business into economic growth opportunities. The deal is that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) firmly regulates and reduces red tape. In turn, partner companies invest heavily in the environment," said Durkan. "Lafarge Tarmac is committing significant investment in the environment. In addition to many environmental benefits, it will reduce its carbon emissions from production by a minimum of 10%, equivalent to taking 6500 cars off the road. It will look at ways to reduce emissions from its transportation chain and has also committed to improving public access to rare geological features found in the Ballysudden Area of Sepcial Scientific Interest (ASSI), located in its Cookstown quarry and to work with key stakeholders to develop a renewable energy strategy and examine options for reducing packaging."

Belarus: Belarusian manufacturers are expected to export 1.8Mt of cement in 2015, including 1.3Mt to be supplied to Russia's Eurocement, according to Construction minister Anatol Chorny. Belarus sold 980,000t of cement to Eurocement in 2014. Belarus' cement output is expected to total 6.1Mt in 2015, up from 5.8Mt in 2014.

"This year we have signed an exclusive contract for the supply of 1.3Mt," said Chorny. "The contract is advantageous to Belarus because 50% of the total amount shall be paid in advance and the rest shall be paid within 10 days of the delivery date. If the price of cement in the Russian market is lower than in Belarus, the Russian company will cover the losses. If the price will be higher, the difference will be equally divided." Belarus will also export cement to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, Poland and Lithuania in 2015.

Belarus' AAT Krychawtsementnashyfer in Krychaw, Mahilyow, operated at a loss in 2013. This was caused by its old production plant, which still uses natural gas to manufacture cement. In contrast, the company's new production facility generated a profit of about Euro676,000 in 2014. To reduce the cost of cement production, Krychawtsementnashyfer installed a cement kiln fuelled by waste tyres in 2014 and plans to start using coal dust as a fuel in 2015, according to Chorny.

India: Cement companies that operate in East Jaintia Hills District, Meghalaya State face a precarious situation due to a ban imposed by National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the extraction and transportation of coal. As coal is a major fuel used by the cement plants in the region, its non-availability threatens to close the plants.

"Coal demand from cement plants is huge and if there is no supply, all the cement companies will have no other option but to shut down their plants," said a representative at one of the cement plants affected by the ban. He lamented that the NGT court had lifted the ban on transportation of the assessed and extracted coal for transportation to Beltola District, Assam State, only. "However, the cement plants in East Jaintia Hills have not received any coal due to the non-availability of a weighbridge in the district," he said. "Approximately 2000 - 2500 trucks are seen transporting coal to Assam every day."