Gypsum industry news

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d’Algérie’s (GICA) is in discussions to export gypsum. The Algerian cement producer has announced plans to export up to 1.5Mt of cement in 2018, according to the Algeria Press Service. The company handles its exports via the ports of Arzew and Djendjen.

India/Pakistan: Raw gypsum exports are growing at the Wagah border crossing between Pakistan and India. Around 3000t/day or 80 trucks of gypsum cross the border into India, according to the Nation newspaper. Exports have been increasing due to demand from Indian importers. Most of the commodity is used to make cement although it is also used to produce fertiliser and make plaster products such as gypsum wallboard.

Oman: Oman exported 6.76Mt of gypsum from January to November 2017. This compared to 4.86Mt from Thailand, according to Ramachandran, Director of USG Boral Zawawi Gypsum, an Oman-based producer and exporter of gypsum. This potentially marks a change to the gypsum export market in 2016 when Thailand exported 6.29Mt and Oman exported 5.6Mt. Other leading exporters in 2016 included Spain, Iran and Mexico.

Oman: A significant increase in the quantity of gypsum exported by Oman has helped the country to become the world’s leading exporter of gypsum. Shipments reached a record 6.32Mt during the first 10 months of 2017. Exports for 2017 are projected to top 7.30Mt, up from 5.65Mt a year earlier.

By contrast, the long-standing crude gypsum export leader Thailand has seen exports plummet in the wake of its decision to limit outflows of the commodity in favour of the south-east Asian nation’s thriving domestic gypsum and cement industries. Its exports are estimated to come to around 5Mt by the end of 2017, versus a record-setting 6.26Mt in 2016.

The rapid development of Oman as a gypsum export hub bodes well for the development of other mineral processing sectors in the country, according to Ramachandran, Director of USG Boral Zawawi Gypsum, one of Oman’s leading producers and exporters of gypsum.

“Considering that gypsum exports from the Sultanate were non-existent barely a decade ago, I think we have come a long way in a short time,” he said. “With improved cooperation and coordination among the exporters, suitably supervised by the Public Authority of Mining (PAM), the Sultanate can build on this landmark achievement and enhance non-oil export revenue growth from this promising economic industry.”

Ramachandran added that Oman’s large reserves and its geographic position serves it well to benefit from increasing gypsum consumption in the coming years. It is now the most important source of gypsum for at least 15 countries in Asia and Africa, including India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique. By far the largest importer is India, which takes around 35% of the gypsum that Oman exports.

Oman: Hilal bin Mohammed al-Busaidi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Public Authority for Mining (PAM), predicts that Oman is set to become the largest exporter of gypsum by the end of 2017. Its gypsum exports are expected to exceed 10Mt in 2018 from 4.6Mt in 2016, according to the Oman News Agency. So far the country has exported 6.1Mt in the first nine months of 2017.

PAM says that Oman has 1Bnt of reserves of gypsum. These are concentrated in the southern part of the country and in some northern regions notably in Al Shuwaimiyah, Thumrait, Sadah, Ghaba and Buraimi. The principal export markets for the product are India, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Tanzania: Knauf plans to invest an additional US$5m in a production site in Mkuranga district. The German company has already invested US$10m into the unit, according to the Citizen newspaper. The company started operations in the country in 2014 and it employs over 150 people. It is its first unit in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zachopoulos Georgios, the managing director for East Africa, said that the subsidiary sources most of its raw materials locally and that it mines gypsum in the south of the country. He added that the company is focusing on promoting regular gypsum boards of 9mm and 12mm and boards of 12.5mm for moisture-resistance and fire resistance for the East African region. It will also offer other products from its portfolio, including related powder, steel sections, screws and tape offerings. The company exports 8% of its production at present and it hopes to increase this to 20 – 30% in the coming years.

Oman: Exports of gypsum rose by 29% year-on-year to 3.29Mt in the first five months of 2017 from 2.55Mt in the same period in 2016. The boost in export volumes mainly arose in April and May 2017, according to data from the Oman Gypsum Association. Data from the Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM) in Thailand suggests that gypsum exports have fallen from that country so far in 2017. Omani gypsum producers hope to take advantage of a growing supply deficit in Asian export markets.

Peru: Eternit Perú plans to spend around US$8.7m towards security, technology and plant productivity by 2020. Over half of this investment, US$4.4m, will be spent in 2017, according to the El Comercio newspaper. The building materials producer intends to double its gypsum wallboard business by 2020 and it has started a new marketing campaign to support this aim. It has recently won a government tender to build 2600 temporary homes using its wallboard system and it also plans to start exporting products to New Zealand in the short term.

Oman: The chief executives of the major gypsum mining companies have endorsed new regulations issued by the Public Authority for Mining (PAM) calling for a minimum export price for gypsum. The company leaders also agreed to establish the Oman Gypsum Association (OGA), an organisation intended to support the industry, according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper. The decision follows the intervention by the PAM in December 2016 when it set minimum export freight on board (FOB) price for raw gypsum at US$12.50/t.

Following the intervention, local gypsum exporters are barred from exporting raw gypsum below this price. Those found in breach of this regulation will be denied export permits, while repeat offenders could have their mining licences removed.

Oman: Growing demand for gypsum, mainly from cement and wallboard manufacturers, should see exports from Oman reach 10Mt/yr by 2018, nearly double the present level, making it the fourth largest gypsum producing country, according to industry experts. Gypsum production is expected to hit 12Mt/yr by 2020.

Gypsum exports from Salalah Port rose from 4.15Mt in 2014 to 4.8Mt in the first 10 months of 2015. Exports are expected to reach 5.5Mt for the entire of 2015. Oman is the 10th-largest gypsum producing country in the world and is expected to become the sixth-largest in 2016, according to Zawawi Minerals' CEO Ramachandran. The US Geological Survey has estimated gypsum resources of around 950Mt in the southern part of the country. The gypsum demand growth is mainly from Asian countries like India, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. There was a supply crunch from Thailand, where mineral mining had become heavily-regulated.

Zawawi Minerals partnered with United States Gypsum Corporation in 2012 and with Australia's Boral to launch the largest gypsum mining facility in the country. The US$16m, 3Mt/yr facility exports gypsum rock to India, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South and East Africa, the UAE and Bangladesh. Zawawi Minerals also set up the Middle East's first Sheetrock brand gypsum wallboard plant in the Salalah Free Zone for US$37m. It has a production capacity of 10Mm².

"Oman has emerged as the single most important source for high grade natural gypsum for cement and gypsum wallboard manufacturers across Asia and South and East Africa. With higher production and little significant change in domestic consumption, Oman may continue to export the majority of its gypsum," said Ramachandran.