Gypsum industry news

Canada: The Canada Border Services Agency has started an investigation into gypsum board products being imported from the US. The probe has been initiated by a complaint by CertainTeed Gypsum Canada about the products being imported into British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as the Yukon and Northwest Territories, according to the Canadian Press newspaper. It is the second complaint that CertainTeed Gypsum Canada has made in recent years, following a similar allegation in 2016.

In 2016 preliminary tariffs were imposed on US imports and then reduced after being blamed for raising the price of wallboard. The increases were linked to higher costs for domestic customers in Fort McMurray, Alberta following destruction caused by wildfires. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal later ruled that US imports had caused injury to local producers but that maintaining duties would not be in the country's trade interests.

Canada: Red Moon Resources has submitted a development plan for an open cast gypsum mine at the Ace deposit in western Newfoundland to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The project has already received environmental clearance. It is currently attempting to find customers for gypsum and anhydrite from mine. Previously the site was used by the Flat Bay mine, which produced at least 15Mt of gypsum prior to 1990.

Red Moon Resources is an industrial minerals company developing the Ace Gypsum deposit, the Black Bay Nepheline deposit and the Captain Cook Salt deposit in Newfoundland and Labrador. Its majority shareholder is Vulcan Minerals.

Canada: Lafarge Canada has filed an application under the Environmental Management Act to discharge emissions from a pumice dryer and gypsum granulator at its mothballed cement plant at Kamloops in British Colombia. The building materials manufacturer plans to produce agricultural gypsum and dry pumice for concrete production at the site, according to the Kamloops This Week newspaper. The plant stopped cement production in late 2016.

US: United States Geoogical Survey (USGS) data reports production of gypsum-based board products rose by 2.4% year-on-year to 2.35Mm² in 2017 from 2.29Mm² in 2016. Mined gypsum production increased by 7% year-on-year to 18.2Mt in 2017 from 16.7Mt in 2016. Synthetic gypsum supply rose by 4% to 16.7Mt from 16Mt. Imports of crude gypsum rose by 12.7% to 4.89Mt from 4.34Mt. The major importing countries remained Mexico, Canada and Spain. Exports of gypsum board products fell by 30% to 0.71Mt from 1.01Mt. The mjaority of these products were exported to Canada.

Canada: The British Columbia government has granted an environmental assessment certificate for a 0.4Mt/yr opencast gypsum mine in West Kootenay proposed by CertainTeed Gypsum Canada. Construction of the project is expected to cost US$19m, according to the Canadian Press. Gypsum from the mine will be used to manufacture gypsum wallboard, cement and plaster products.

Canada: The government has opened its Drywall Support Program for applications until the end of May 2017. This program provides drywall contractors and builders in Western and Northern Canada with compensation for elevated drywall costs due to anti-dumping duties imposed on imported drywall from the US, according to Canadian Newswire. The initiative is also intended to homeowners in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by the 2016 wildfires and are now facing higher rebuilding costs. The US$9m scheme will be administered by Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

US: CertainTeed has gained six additional Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), bringing its total number of gypsum wallboard EPDs to 12. The building materials producer started launching product specific EPDs in the drywall category in late 20115.

"CertainTeed is proud to have pioneered EPD verifications both within our drywall products and extending across CertainTeed insulation and ceilings categories. Since the beginning, we've delivered on our commitment to provide better product transparency so that our customers can make informed decisions on environmental sustainability implications at the initial stages of project development," said Dave Engelhardt, president of CertainTeed Gypsum.

CertainTeed Gypsum offers 12 product-specific Type III EPDs that include seven plants in four different product categories. The company says it is the only manufacturer to offer 'Cradle-to-Grave' EPD transparency that takes the entire development process into account. The EPDs from CertainTeed Gypsum are third-party verified by UL Environment and include information on global warming potential, embodied energy and other impacts that occur as a result of manufacturing.

The six new EPDs are available for four product groups including AirRenew, M2Tech, Easi-Lite and CertainTeed Type X. AirRenew is produced at the Moundsville plant in West Virginia and the other products are manufactured at the Montreal plant in Quebec, Canada.

Canada: Residents rebuilding their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta will be compensated for duties liable on gypsum wallboard imported from the US. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau made the announcement, according to the Canadian Press. A source quoted by the agency said that it is part of the government's response to a Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) ruling that lobbied it to cut duties imposed on wallboard products being imported into Western Canada from the US. The CITT ruled that gypsum wallboard imports from the US had 'hurt' the local industry in January 2017 but, in a separate ruling, it also recognised that competition had been 'substantially' reduced in Western Canada.

Canada: The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has ruled that gypsum wallboard dumping from the US exports has caused injury to the domestic industry. The ruling means that preliminary duties of up to 276% imposed by the Canada Border Services Agency on imports from the US in September 2016 end but will be replaced by permanent variable duties on any imports that fall below a floor price established in December 2016, according to the Canadian Press.

In a separate ruling the tribunal also found that provisional duties in Western Canada have 'substantially' reducing competition in those markets. It has recommended that the government consider refunding some of the duties paid so far to alleviate short-term pain for contractors and consumers, and that it consider a special remission of duties to residents of Fort McMurray.

CertainTeed Gypsum Canada complained to the Canada Border Services Agency about wallboard originating in the US being sold at 'unfair' prices and this led to an investigation in June 2016. However, CertainTeed Gypsum Canada may have benefitted from being the only Canadian manufacturer of wallboard in Western Canada following the introduction of provisional duties in September 2016.

The tribunal will issue the reasons for its findings and recommendations in both cases on 19 January 2017.

Canada: Cabot Gypsum is expanding to focus on markets along the eastern seaboard of North America. The decision follows upgrades on production equipment and maintenance procedures following investment from a Texan investor, according to CBC News. It has now started to expand its workforce and has added BlueGlass, a sheathed gypsum wallboard product, to its portfolio. The plant has a target of 650,000Mm²/month.