Gypsum industry news

Armenia: The government has included cement production under a list of permitted economic activities able to resume from 16 April 2020. Azbarez News has reported that the present lockdown is scheduled to continue until 15 May 2020.

Australia: Boral has reported that, in most jurisdictions, its activities are currently considered to be within the critical infrastructure and construction sectors that are permitted and encouraged to continue as essential businesses. This includes Boral’s US Fly Ash business, which provides an essential service to the energy sector. In some areas however, particularly in North America and Asia, more stringent mandates and restrictions have resulted in temporary closures of several operations.

In addition, demand is declining in most markets and is expected to continue to decline, particularly in residential construction markets where the pipeline of work is substantially reducing in all geographies.

As a result, where it has sufficient inventory levels to supply customers, production curtailments are planned and are now taking place, including shift reductions and temporary plant closures. Boral says that these actions will help to conserve cash and minimise any unintended inventory build-up.

Boral is supporting employees impacted by temporary closures with access to paid leave, unpaid leave, flexible and remote working arrangements (where possible) and assistance with accessing relevant government support.

Thailand: The Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM) has lowered Thailand’s gypsum export quota to 6.0Mt in 2020, the same as in 2019 and down by 17% from it original 2020 quota of 7.0Mt.

Thailand’s 2019 gypsum exports were 5.04Mt.

US: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be receiving public comment until 6 Feb 2020 on Eagle Materials' proposed 100 acre expansion of its 830 acre mine near Gypsum in Eagle County, Colorado. The mine supplies gypsum to its 67Mm2-capacity Eagle Materials gypsum wallboard plant in gypsum. BLM Colorado River Valley field manager Larry Sandoval said, “Responsible mineral development is part of BLM’s multiple-use mission,” according to RealVail newspaper.

US: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) for US Gypsum’s proposed upgrades to its Split Mountain quarry near Plaster City. Imperial Valley Press has reported that the FSEIS will provide the basis for the BLM’s decision as to how much if any of the proposed US$110m’s-worth upgrade to grant clearance to proceed with. US Gypsum’s plans consist of a new water line and associated buried electrical lines between the quarry and its Plaster City plant and a water line between the plant and the Imperial Irrigation District's Westside Main Canal.

Chile: Germany’s Knauf plans to invest US$11m towards increasing the rate of gypsum extraction at a quarry its subsidiary Yesos Andinos operates at the Rubí deposit, in in San José del Maipo, Cordillera Province. The company said in an Environmental Impact Study (EIA) that it wants to raise extraction to 0.4Mt/yr, according to ValorFuturo. At present it is restricted to 35,000t/yr at the site.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Chemical Group’s DAP No 1 – Hai Phong fertiliser plant is exploring options to use phosphogypsum as an additive in cement production. The company is working with the government on finding a use for the by-product of fertiliser production, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Duong Duy Hung, the director of the Planning Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Science and Technology have been developing new standards and regulations on the use of phosphogypsum plaster for use in the building materials sector. A phosphogypsum dump at the plant is expected to be utilised by 2025.

US: The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on a proposed expansion of a USG gypsum quarry and associated water lines in Imperial County, California. USG wants to replace an existing water supply line to its Plaster City gypsum wallboard plant. The project will cost US$110m. The comment period will last until early September 2019.

UK: Associated British Ports (ABP) has proposed the construction of a new gypsum wallboard plant at the Port of Newport. The project is at the planning stage with the submission of an environmental impact report to the local government. The 14,000m³ unit will be built on brownfield land south west of the port’s South Dock. It will include a simple warehouse-type structure enclosing production lines, conveyor belts, storage loading areas and two hoppers. No cost for the project has been disclosed.

Gypsum for the production line will be delivered by ship and unloaded into a quayside storage facility. Plasterboard products will be distributed from the proposed plant mainly by road although export markets by sea could be possible. It is anticipated that around 70 jobs would be created by the plant.

Ghana: Germany’s Knauf plans to open a training centre to provide knowledge and skills to construction professionals. It will be opened by Isabel Knauf, Member of the Knauf Group Management Committee, Gerd Müller, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Christiane Laibach, chairwoman of the Management Board of Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), according to the Ghana News Agency. The opening is part of the German African Business Summit. The centre will offer up to 800 training positions per year. It is part of a wider training initiative being organised by Knauf, DEG and the BMZ in Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.