Gypsum industry news

Argentina: Demetra Minerals, the joint venture partner of Canada's Centurion Minerals, has entered into a purchase agreement for both a primary crushing facility and a secondary crushing unit for its Ana Sofia gypsum-mining project in Santiago del Estero. Once operational the pilot plant will process up to 40,000t/yr of gypsum for agricultural markets.

At present, upgrading and refurbishing of the primary crusher is underway and manufacturing of the secondary crusher is on-schedule. Demetra anticipates the crushers will be transported to the project site in early October 2016. Site preparation, including clearing, compaction and access road is nearing completion and concrete foundations are being installed in preparation for mounting of the crushing facility.

All mining extraction, environmental and export permits are in place to operate the plant and Demetra's fertiliser distributor in Paraguay has reconfirmed an off-take agreement to purchase up to 50,000t/yr of agricultural gypsum material at the current market price.

"We are extremely pleased with the advances our Argentine partner has made in designing and developing a low cost pilot plant operation. This initial plant facility will allow us to fine-tune the material delivery, crushing and processing operations while we complete initial and subsequent resource estimates of the property. Having a sales distribution arrangement in place will allow us to generate revenue offsetting the cost of resource delineation, operational expenses and processing expansion," said Centurion CEO, David Tafel.

The Ana Sofia project comprises two mining concessions of 50 hectares in size within a larger (approximately 500 hectare) exploration permit area. Trenching and test pit sampling work completed by joint venture partner Demetra Minerals in 2014 - 15 and Centurion in 2016 identified multiple, high grade, near surface gypsum layers. Small scale producers located in the vicinity are currently extracting agricultural gypsum and selling to fertiliser distributors and farmers.

US: Louisiana's attorney general Jeff Landry says he has cancelled contracts with attorneys involved in state suits against Chinese gypsum wallboard companies, and is auditing nearly US$7m worth of contracts. Landry said he's auditing the billing and work under five contracts to see what they've done to help Louisiana's case. His office will take over the work, according to Associated Press.

"The state has spent nearly US$7m on outside legal counsel for the Chinese drywall litigation," said Landry. "This use of taxpayers' hard-earned money comes to an end under my watch." He added that payments to the firms ranged from nearly US$5.6m to the Perkins Coie law firm to US$101,700 to the Theriot Group.

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin and four companies it supplied agreed in 2010 to pay for home repairs relating to damage caused by Chinese gypsum wallboard used mainly in the south of the US. District Judge Eldon Fallon has ruled that Taishan Gypsum must pay damages, and is considering the amount.

Iran: Azerbaijani company Matanat-A plans to build a gypsum wallboard plant in Iran according to comments made by Mohsen Pak Ayeen, the Iranian ambassador to Baku, reported upon by the Trend News Agency. Jafar Sarghini, Iran's deputy industry minister for mining and mineral industries, said that the company has obtained a license to operate in the country.

US: The Gypsum Association (GA), which represents the North American manufacturers of gypsum wallboard, has released an industry-wide environmental product declaration (EPD) for glass mat gypsum panels. The EPD provides environmental performance information addressing energy consumption, water consumption, global warming, waste, air emissions and other metrics related to production.

"The development and release of this ISO 14025 conformance, Type III, cradle-to-shipping gate EPD, demonstrates that our member companies are committed to transparency as a means of improving the environment and increasing the sustainability of building products," said Stephen Meima, LEED Green Associate, executive director of the Gypsum Association.

The international standards organisation, ASTM, served as program operator for the EPD. The GA commissioned the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute (ASMI) to perform the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that informs the EPD and to produce the EPD Project Report.

Glass mat gypsum panels are specialised performance products consisting of a no-combustible moisture resistant core encased in fibreglass facers on front and back surfaces and long edges. Also known as 'exterior gypsum sheathing,' this product provides extended weather protection, mould and moisture resistance, and fire resistance when specified as a component of a building's exterior envelope. Glass mat gypsum panels are compatible with a wide variety of exterior claddings including wood, masonry, metal, vinyl and stucco. Glass mat panels are increasingly used in the rapidly expanding multifamily residential sector.

France: Saint-Gobain has joined part of the 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), ranking among the top-three global companies and the number one European company for construction products. Special mention was given to the group's commitment and initiatives to tackle climate change. Established in 1999, the DJSI distinguishes best-in-class companies in the field of corporate social responsibility.

"I am very proud to see our group included in this renowned index, which is the benchmark for Corporate Social Responsibility. It is recognition of our commitment in this endeavour. We initially set out to be listed in 2017, so we met our target a year ahead of schedule. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our teams for achieving this excellent result," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain.