Gypsum industry news
Ukraine: A US White House official has accused the Wagner Group of conducting military operations near Bakhmut with the objective of seizing raw gypsum and salt deposits in the area. The official said that there were indications that monetary motives were driving the mercenary group and Russia’s "obsession" with the city, according to Reuters. The US government has previously accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali and Sudan to help fund Moscow's war in Ukraine. The Russian government has rejected the allegations.
Russia claims that its army took control of Soledar, a town near Bakhmut, on 13 January 2023. However, western European news sources have been unable to independently verify this. Etex’s local subsidiary Siniat Ukraine operated a gypsum wallboard plant on the outskirts of Bakhmut before Russia invaded the country in February 2022. The current status of the plant is unknown.
US: A worker died in a hopper accident at PABCO Building Products’ Newark gypsum wallboard plant in California in late December 2022. The Alameda County Fire Department said that incident occurred when the worker became trapped in the hopper following an inspection of a blockage, according to CBS News. Workers at the plant and firefighters attempted to rescue him but were unsuccessful.
