Gypsum industry news

Romania: Siniat Romania, part of Etex, has opened a gypsum plant in Turceni, Gorj, following a Euro50m investment from its own funds.

The gypsum wallboard plant encompasses 320,000m² of land and is the largest in Romania, according to the company. With a production capacity of 27Mm2 of wallboard, the unit serves a strategic purpose for Siniat Romania, covering 10 markets across south-east Europe.

The Turceni plant is the first in Romania that uses synthetic gypsum produced from the gas desulphurisation process from a power plant. The gypsum has high purity and consistency and is an excellent feedstock for wallboard. In addition, water used in the production process will come from rainwater collected from the roofs of the plant and drilled wells, thus limiting resource consumption, while waste water will also be internally recycled.

Siniat has also invested Euro1m in the construction of a new road that links the plant to the national road, limiting the impact of heavy vehicles on the local community. The plant provides 80 new employment opportunities for the local community, with the new employees being trained in Siniat plants in Romania, Italy and Germany.

"Siniat plays an active role in local communities. We particularly appreciate the labour force in Romania, with well-trained and motivated people. We constantly invest in technology and use high quality raw material. We develop in a stable economic environment with high potential. Our goal is to capitalise on this potential," said Marc-André Fritzsche, General Manager of Siniat Romania. Siniat Romania has two other plants in Bucharest and Aghiresu (Cluj).

Russia: Turkey's Erişim has completed another gypsum plant in Orenburg, Russia. The official opening of the gypsum plant Volma took place on 4 September 2015. The Orenburg Regional Governor, Yury Berg, the President of Volma, Alexander Malashkin and the Chairman of Board of Volma, Yury Goncharov, took part in the opening ceremony.

"Volma Orenburg is a modern, ecologically-safe project that will actively participate in the implementation of import replacement projects and in the cooperation between Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries," said Goncharov.

The new plant has been built with high-tech, environmentally-friendly technologies. The plaster production volume upon achieving its estimated capacity will be 120,000t/yr. From pre-engineering to commissioning, the plant has been completed in 16 months by Erişim.

Volma's other new gypsum plant in Adygeya, the 240,000t/yr Maikop plant, will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015 and was also built by Erişim.

UK: Waste management firm Wastecycle has been given an award for its wallboard recycling scheme. The company won a Green Apple Environment Award, which recognises environmental best practice in companies, for its scheme offering a national collection and recycling service. Through its partnership with wallboard manufacturer British Gypsum, Wastecycle prevents 30,000t/yr of wallboard material from reaching landfill.

Representatives of Wastecycle will go to the Houses of Parliament on 16 November 2015 to find out if their award is bronze, silver or gold. Paul Clements, Commercial Director of Wastecycle, said, "We're delighted to have been awarded a Green Apple Environment Award. There were more than 500 entries, so to be a winner is a real honour."

Belarus: Construction of a new gypsum plant in Hatava near Minsk started on 7 October 2015. The project is financed by Russia's Volma Corporation, which acquired the Belarusian government's 99.5% stake in AAT Belhips, a Minsk-based manufacturer of gypsum products, for Euro4.65m in 2014. In 2014, Volma Corporation also signed an agreement whereby it would provide a total of Euro45.5m for the modernisation of the Belhips plant and the construction of a new gypsum plant.

Volma Corporation chose Belarus as the place for its new plant because of the country's 'stability and open economy,' according to Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Anatol Kalinin. According to him, the future plant, which is expected to be completed in less than two and a half years, will provide a boost to the Belarusian economy and contribute to Volma's development as well. The plant will manufacture 30Mm²/yr of wallboard, 500,000Mm³/yr of gypsum blocks and 100,000t/yr of dry building mixes. Most of the output will be exported to western Europe when operations start in 2018. The new plant is expected to create at least 180 new jobs.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volma Company Yuri Goncharov stressed that the construction of a new plant is not a simple project from an economic point of view. "It is not the best time for return on investment. However, looking into the future we understand that the Belarusian construction sector has big potential," said Goncharov. "These are big capacities. Today, Belarus consumes 12Mm2/yr of gypsum. Our main objective is to prove to the Belarusian construction industry that gypsum materials are more efficient in terms of energy performance, environmental friendliness and economy."

Belarusian First Deputy Construction Minister Alyaksandr Kruchanaw described the project as very important for Belarus' construction sector. "It is important for Minsk as well because it is part of efforts to remove industrial facilities from the capital city, which will improve the environment in the city," said Kruchanaw.

US: Transnational Group has entered into a mining lease agreement with the Nevada Outdoor School (NOS) to secure full rights to mine gypsum on several claims located in southern Nevada that comprise the Mount Vista Gypsum property.

According to the agreement, Transnational has acquired full mining rights of any gypsum that is located on the Mount Vista property in exchange for a production royalty. There are 12 claims included in the lease agreement that comprise a total of 1.86km². The term of the company's mining lease for Mount Vista is 10 years with three five-year renewable options.

"Transnational is excited to announce the finalisation of our agreement with the Nevada Outdoor School that will allow us to mine gypsum and limestone contained in Mount Vista at an agreed upon royalty. This agreement enables the possibility of discovery and mining other valuable minerals and metals as well," said CEO of Transnational Group, Philip Dutoit. The agreement stipulates that the company will negotiate a separate royalty agreement with the NOS for each resource.