Displaying items by tag: quarry

US: Vulcan Materials has secured approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its upcoming aggregates quarry in Comal County. The approval is based on the company’s water quality protection plan for the 607 hectare site situated in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, which supplies water to 2 million people. The plan involves the use of vegetation strips, berms and flood plain areas, while excavating a total 387 hectare (64%) of the site in nine successive stages.

Vulcan Materials said that it plans to operate the site in a ‘safe, socially and environmentally responsible’ manner, and will ‘protect and conserve’ water.

Spain: Heidelberg Materials and construction firm Viuda de Sainz plan to open a construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling and slag grinding plant in Güeñes, Basque Country. The plant, called Harri Green, will be situated in Heidelberg Materials' existing Zaramillo limestone quarry. It processing capacities will be 140,000t/yr CDW and 20,000t/yr steel slag, with which it will produce aggregates. The cost of the plant is Euro2m.

UK: Heidelberg Materials has acquired the outstanding Smiths Concrete shares from the Smiths family. Smiths Concrete operates seven concrete plants, two quarries and an inert landfill site across Warwickshire and Oxfordshire in the centre of England. It has owned a minority stake in the Banbury-headquartered joint venture since its inception in 1957.

Going forward, Smiths Concrete will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity and there are no plans currently to change its branding or day-to-day operations. Similarly, it will continue to seek approval for its proposed new sand and gravel quarry at Wasperton Farm in Warwickshire, England.

Colombia: Cemex has announced the launch of the Tunjuelo Circularity Centre at its former Tunjuelo quarry near Bogotá. Having rebuilt parts of the 50m-deep quarry with demolition waste, Cemex will now work on its ecological restoration, while continuing to receive excavation waste for reconstruction of the ground. It will meanwhile divert demolition waste deliveries for recycling in aggregate production. In Bogotá, Cemex has launched an initiative for urban construction partnerships in collaboration with local authorities. It will also collect municipal solid waste (MSW) there for use in its cement production and collect its used plastic cement bags for recycling in building materials production.

Cemex’s Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said "This is a pioneering model for Cemex in the construction materials industry globally, which we aim to position as a benchmark for circularity within the sustainable development of large cities in Colombia and the world. A piece of land that supplied materials for Bogotá's development for decades has received construction and demolition waste for its redevelopment and was transformed into a green area to the south of the city, an epicenter of the circular economy and an opportunity for urban development for the capital city of Colombia."

New Zealand: The Global Cement and Concrete Association has welcomed Fletcher Building’s concrete division as its first member from Oceania. Scoop News has reported that the concrete’s division’s business spans the entire concrete value chain, including 26 limestone and aggregates quarries and 80 ready-mix concrete batching plants. Its cement subsidiary Golden Bay Cement operates the 0.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Whangārei, New Zealand.

Fletcher Building concrete division CEO Nick Traber said "Fletcher Building firmly believes we can play a significant part in a carbon zero and circular future. Our Golden Bay EcoSure cement is one of the lowest-carbon cements in the world already, with 13 - 22% less embodied carbon than imported products. We believe having access to the global research and knowledge from the GCCA will help us improve this further and continue to lead Australasia in best practice decarbonisation of the built environment."

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos Spain has completed its acquisition of Heidelberg Materials' businesses in the south of Spain. Under the deal, Votorantim Cimentos Spain gains control of FYM's 1.6Mt/yr Málaga cement plant, as well as three aggregates quarries and 11 ready-mix concrete plants in Andalusia.

Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos' Europe, Asia and Africa CEO Jorge Wagner said “This acquisition is fully aligned with our strategy, reinforces our presence in the Iberian Peninsula to better serve our customers and creates significant synergies with our existing assets. Besides this, it will be key to accelerating our decarbonisation journey to achieve our 2030 Sustainability Commitments."

Votorantim Cimentos Spain operates a mortar plant and multiple concrete batching and aggregates plants across Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, Extremadura and Galicia.

Canada: Holcim has announced its acquisition of Mathers Group’s quarry and asphalt assets in Quebec. The group says that the acquisition will accelerate its development of local circular construction practices by expanding its recycled concrete offering.

Czech Republic: Českomoravský Beton has acquired six ready-mixed concrete plants and a sandpit in Moravia from Kámen Zbraslav. The plants have a total capacity of 85,000m³/yr. Českomoravský Beton says that they have a ‘well-established residential and commercial customer base’ in and around Brno.

Parent company HeidelbergCement says that the acquisition drives forward its portfolio optimisation programme. It now operates 80 ready-mixed concrete plants in the Czech Republic.

France: Holcim has acquired six new aggregates quarries in Eastern France from FAMY Group. The group says that the quarries serve the Dijon, Lyon and Geneva, Switzerland, markets. It previously acquired new aggregates and ready-mix concrete operations in the ‘growing’ region in 2021.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “This acquisition expands our footprint in the highly attractive Rhône-Alpes region, confirming our ambition to revitalise key urban areas from Lyon to Geneva. This expansion is in line with our strategy to accelerate green growth and play our part in Europe’s net-zero transition. Our combined businesses and improved market access will provide an excellent platform to further strengthen our range of sustainable building solutions, such as ECOPact green concrete. I warmly welcome all FAMY Group employees into the Holcim family and look forward to unleashing our next era of growth together.”