Gypsum industry news

Mexico: Mining and metallurgic production dropped 6% in Mexico in the first four months of 2014, the steepest fall for a similar period since 2009, according to the national institute of statistics and geography (INEGI). The drop was attributed to a fall in coal, gold, iron ore, silver, fluorite and lead production. In contrast, gypsum, coque, sulphur, zinc and copper output rose in the same period.

China: China Vanadium Titano-Magnetite Mining said that it has agreed to acquire 51% of the paid-up registered capital of Sichuan Haoyuan New Materials Co Ltd at US$59.3m. Sichuan Haoyuan's wholly-owned subsidiary Hanyuan County Xinjin Mining Co Ltd currently holds the mining permit of the Shigou gypsum mine, which is located in Sichuan Province. The mine has a raw gypsum output capacity of 0.30Mt/yr.

Pakistan: Labourers have demanded payment of compensation to the legal heirs of their colleagues who lost their lives during work in gypsum mines in the Karak District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The labourers said that several workers had been killed in gypsum mines at Lakh Kani, Bahaderkhel and Narri Panos areas in the Karak District, but the families didn't receive any compensation from the Workers Welfare Board of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They also complained that the mine owners had provided no safety equipment to the labourers. The labour leaders threatened to stage a sit-in outside of the office of the labour commissioner of Kohat if their demands were not met.

Pakistan: An explosion in a gypsum mine in Khewra, Jhelum District left three people dead and seven others buried under rubble on 15 April 2014, according to local press. The explosion, which was a planned explosion carried out to expand the mine, appears to have gone wrong.

Belarus: Russian gypsum producer Volma plans to explore the city of Mozyr in Belarus for a new source of raw gypsum.

"The head of Volma Corporation is going to search for gypsum deposits in Mozyr. He believes that the deposits rich in sodium chloride might also be rich in gypsum. The company has quarries in Ukraine and brings gypsum from there. It would be good if they found this important raw material in Belarus," said chairman of the State Property Committee, Georgy Kuznetsov.

As part of Volma's recent acquisition of Belarus' Belgips, Volma pledged to upgrade Belgips' production facilities and construct a plant to produce gypsum materials in the village of Gatovo, Minsk District. The investment agreement provides that at least Euro43m should be invested in Belgips by 1 July 2018.

India: In a campaign against illegal mining, local police seized 2500t of gypsum from Dantoor in Bikaner district, Jaipur, on 5 February 2014.

Mining equipment was seized and 15 cases have been registered. On the third day of the campaign, a team was prepared to claim gypsum from a plaster of paris manufacturing unit in Bikaner region. The owner was not able to provide the purchase vouchers or state the source of the gypsum. "We received the information and a team was sent. The Bikaner region has a lot of gypsum that, at times, reaches the plants illegally," said Rohit Mahajan, deputy inspector general of vigilance (mining).

The police have registered eight cases in Jhunjhunu and five cases in Nagaur. Officials asserted that due to fear of action against them during the campaign, several illegal mining mafias have stopped their activities. However, they agreed that more such efforts are needed to curb it completely.

"At several places, the mineral can be found on the layer of soils. To extract it, there is no need for sophisticated equipment. Stopping illegal mining activities in these areas is difficult, but certainly the campaign has struck fear among the mafias," added Mahajan.

Police claim that instead of fining the culprits, cases have been registered against them. If they are found to be involved in illegal mining again, stricter action may be taken.