Gypsum industry news

India: The Industries and Commerce Department of the Andhra Pradesh state government has granted Saint-Gobain India an extension to the duration a package of financial incentives will be available for the construction of its new gypsum wallboard plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam. The company now has until June 2022 to commence commercial production, according to the Hindu newspaper. The producer’s total investment in the project is US$268m. When finally commissioned, the plant will employ 450 locals. It will also manufacture float glass.

Saint-Gobain India also received permission from the department to change its name to Saint-Gobain Industries.

US: According to local media, NB Power has paid J D Irving more than US$12.3m in penalties and contract renegotiation fees since 2009.

"The revelation that NB Power has a contract with J D Irving to provide gypsum from the oil-burning Coleson Cove plant until 2026 for Irving's wallboard plant and pay J D Irving when they can't deliver stunned many New Brunswickers," said David Coon, New Brunswick Green Party leader. "It reminds me of the contract this government currently has with J D Irving to supply an unsustainable volume of softwood from the Crown lands for years into the future or pay up if they can't deliver."

The 2005 contract commits NB Power's Coleson Cove generating station to provide a minimum amount of synthetic gypsum to Atlantic Wallboard every year until 2026. NB Power currently produces 20,000 - 30,000t/yr of gypsum. According to NB Power, the contract states that in the event of a production shortfall, NB Power must pay for the difference between the actual gypsum supplied and the minimum amount of gypsum agreed to in the contract. NB Power has paid US$5.33m in shortfall penalties since the 2009 - 2010 fiscal year. NB Power paid Atlantic Wallboard another US$5m in 2010 - 2011 so that it could reduce the annual cap that it is required to meet, thereby reducing the penalties it has to pay in the future.

Brent Staeben, director of marketing and communications for NB Power, said that the contract was again renegotiated recently, costing another US$2m. "The contract has evolved over time to reflect the fact that the production at Coleson is changing. We have been in constant talks and negotiations over the course of this contract with the buyer to ensure that it better reflects the production at the facility, said Staeben. NB Power has budgeted another US$829,000 for a penalty payment for 2015 - 2016.

Despite the fact that Coleson Cove is producing less gypsum than anticipated, Staeben sid that the contract still makes economic sense because the gypsum needs to be disposed of one way or another. "Originally we committed because we had some sense of how much we would be producing over time. We estimated that, at that time, when we looked into the future, we would need to landfill this," said Staeben. "The cost of landfilling would be significant, in the tens-of-millions of dollars. Even with the changing nature of production there, it's still a very, very good deal for New Brunswickers," he added.

"Without the synthetic gypsum from Coleson Cove, the project would not proceed as the economics to run a gypsum plant in Saint John, relying solely on natural gypsum rock, would not be viable," said Atlantic Wallboard's franchise application to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board in 2006. The document also stated that, "Over time, however, synthetic gypsum from NB Power's generating stations will be supplemented by natural gypsum planned to be imported from out-of-province sources to produce wallboard products."

Indonesia: Saint-Gobain has inaugurated its first wallboard plant in Indonesia, near Jakarta. With a production capacity of 30Mm², the new plant will enable Saint-Gobain to respond better to local demand and continue the group's growth on the rapidly-growing Indonesian wallboard market. Saint-Gobain has four other plants in south-east Asia, in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Saudi Arabia: The Saudi industrial company Al-Ahsa Development's management board has halted the construction of a gypsum plant in the Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern Province. The decision was made after a feasibility study of the deposits showed that the economic efficiency would be insufficient. The company has spent US$879,952 on the feasibility study and government fees for the project.

In May 2008 Al-Ahsa got a licence from the Saudi Ministry of Petrol to build a gypsum plant with a capacity of 500,000t/yr. The company planned to invest US$40.3m in the project and expected US$23.5m/yr revenue.

Saudi Arabia: The Khamis Mushayt Municipality has closed down 30 gypsum plants in Umm Srar neighbourhood for violating health and safety regulations. Mesfer Al-Wadai, mayor of the city, said that several plants were permanently closed, while others were closed temporarily until they correct their shortcomings.

"The municipality will be monitoring their activities to ensure they abide by the regulations," said Al-Wadai. "Some of the plants were found operating in old houses inside the neighbourhoods."

Al-Wadai said that the municipality's inspectors have also been conducting regular checks downtown in the Al-Darb area, where illegal workers sell goods from vehicles, pavements and on the streets. The inspectors confiscated more than 30 vehicles and fined their owners for selling goods without licenses.

"Members of the administrative control department in Khamis Mushayt conducted the inspections aided by the traffic department and other security bodies," said Al-Wadai. He added that the teams also removed two shacks on the Military City Road that were built without permits.

Russia: According to the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus (EcoWatch), a gypsum plant is being built in the dwelling settlement of Kamennomostsky, Republic of Adygea that poses a danger to local residents and tourists. Ecologists have sent their appeals to supervisory authorities and bodies of power.

On 10 June 2014 EcoWatch received an appeal from the residents of Kamennomostsky and the neighbouring settlements of Abadzekh, in which they expressed their concerns about the fact that the operation of the plant will be 'a source of serious pollution of the environment.'

"The plant will use local water sources, which are scant," said Aslan Dzubov, the lawyer of a large peasant farm in Kamennomostsky. "Both crops and locals are severely affected by water pollution." He emphasised that he is not against the construction of the plant as such, but that it is necessary to choose a different location for it.

The EcoWatch sent official requests to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Adygea, the regional department of the Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision and the environment protection department asking them to conduct an inspection.