Gypsum industry news

US: Taishan Gypsum and its owner China National Building Material Company (CNBM) have reached a US$1.98m settlement in one of its on-going legal cases related to alleged defective gypsum wallboard. The Chinese manufacturer says that it has reached settlement with the plantiffs. The case is a third-party claim initiated by original claimants Venture Supply and Porter-Blaine. Following receipt of the payment the plantiffs have agreed to waive all liabilities with respect to Taishan Gypsum.

Canada: Red Moon Resources Inc. has said that it will commence development of the Ace gypsum mine in western Newfoundland after it received government approval for its plan for an open pit operation.

Operational work, consisting of scrubbing vegetation and overburden removal, has begun at the site. The Canada-listed explorer is working with Vinland Materials Inc. to undertake contract mining operations and secure sales agreements for gypsum and anhydrite. In addition, it is working towards initiating shipments in 2018, with sales contracts to be sourced by 2019.

Red Moon estimated potential resources of 3-5Mt within the mining lease, which was obtained in October 2017.

Turkmenistan: Hilligurlushikonumleri has announced that it is building a dry gypsum compound and plasterboard plant in the city of Magdanly, Lebap Province. The plant, designed to produce 12Mm2/yr of gypsum wallboard and 100,000t/yr of dry gypsum mixtures, will be equipped with modern equipment and technology. Hilligurlushikonumleri says that this will make it possible to compete in the production of high-quality products, while creating new jobs. The construction of the facility is due to be completed by the end of 2019.

US: L&W Supply Corp., a distributor of gypsum wallboard, ceiling systems, steel framing and other building materials for contractors, has announced the acquisition of Rose & Walker Supply.

Rose & Walker is a five-branch distribution company based in Columbus, Ohio. The family-owned business started in 1986 and provides wallboard products, metal studs, ceiling systems and insulation. Rose & Walker has branches in Bloomington, Columbus, Lafayette, Indianapolis and Terre Haute.

L&W says that, as a leading distributor of interior building products, the acquisition supports its overall growth strategy. With this acquisition, L&W now operates 163 locations in 35 states.

China/US: China’s Ministry of Commerce has proposed placing retaliatory tariffs on products from the US, including gypsum and gypsum products. The list covers 5207 items and proposes adding import taxes of up to 25% on them. It includes gypsum and gypsum wallboard. The ministry said that the new tariffs will take effect at a date to be announced later on.