Gypsum industry news

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.

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.

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: 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.

Kyrgyzstan: On 11 December 2015, Prime Minister Temir Sariyev inaugurated the Kyrgyz-Iranian gypsum plant in Ak-Suu, Issyk-Kul.

Israel: Israel Chemicals (ICL) is selling its gypsum, pharmaceutical and cosmetics (PCG) business to One Rock Capital Partners for an estimated US$50m.

The sale of the PCG business units is part of ICL's 'Next Step Forward' strategy to divest its non-core businesses to focus on its core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets. Israel Chemicals Performance Products' gypsum business is mostly in the UK and focuses on dental applications.

US: Oklahoma-based ACG Materials has appointed Paul Harrington as its new CEO. ACG Materials is a national provider of minerals, aggregates and related downstream products including gypsum, limestone, sand, gravel and anhydrite.

Paul Harrington joined ACG Materials in July 2014 as president and COO. Prior to July 2014, Harrington was executive vice president at Rain for Rent. Before that, he spent 24 years working for Holcim.

Australia: Gypsum Supplies has started loading from its newest pit at Lake Cowcowing, Western Australia.

Gypsum Supplies operates at Lake Hillman in Dalwallinu, Western Australia, where the family-run business has been supplying gypsum since 1978 to the industrial and agricultural markets.

"We are continuing to operate out of Kalannie as normal," said registered manager Daniel Nixon. "This pit is of very similar quality and analysis to the Kalannie pit." Naturally-occurring lake gypsum has a medium particle size and unlike synthetic gypsum, is not subject to rapid leaching from the soil profile and reportedly has superior spreading characteristics.

Gypsum is used in the agricultural industry for several reasons. It is used as a low-cost non-acidifying form of sulphur. Kalannie gypsum has 17.8% sulphur. Due to the high returns from growing canola in recent years, demand for gypsum as a low-cost form of sulphur has been strong.

Canada: National Gypsum Canada Ltd is looking to make what it calls 'the largest gypsum quarry in the world' even bigger. The quarry in Milford, Nova Scotia currently covers about 3.01km². The plan is to expand operations by 1.44km², 1.35km² of which would be used for mining activities.

"We want to ensure that we have an adequate gypsum supply and the market is better than it has been," said Nancy Spurlock, company spokeswoman. An increase in US housing starts of about 1m units in 2014, up 8% from 2013, continues to drive demand for wallboard products.

National Gypsum has registered its proposed mine extension project for environmental assessment with the province as required under the Environment Act. "The anticipated average production rate for the expanded mine facility will be at the 20-year average of 3.1Mt/yr, depending on market demand," said an environmental report prepared by Stantec Consulting Ltd for National Gypsum.

The Milford-area mine has produced more than 134Mt of gypsum since it opened in 1954. National Gypsum employs 60 people at the mine and more workers will be needed if mining operations and the volume of product pulled from the ground increases, according to Spurlock. The quarry, one of eight the company owns and its only one outside the US, would grow over the next 35 - 40 years, depending on market demand. "It's a long-term forecast, and we need to nail down the source of our gypsum, that's why we're doing it," said Spurlock.

The proposed extension area includes forest, wetland, clear-cuts and some agricultural land. Six wetland areas would be protected by an ecological buffer zone. If the project is given the go-ahead, National Gypsum would open up areas as needed. The minister has until 9 April 2015 to grant a conditional approval of the environmental assessment.