Gypsum industry news

India: The Centre of Mining has decided to put 31 minerals under the control of state governments by scaling down their status from major to minor as part of a mining policy change, according to Mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar. This allows states to decide the mining lease of the minerals, which account for about 60% of the total leased area in the country.

The decentralised minerals include gypsum, quartz, chalk and china clay. The change in policy will let states decide the rate of royalty, contribution to the district mineral foundation, procedure for grant of mineral concessions and rules. The Mines Ministry will allow states' public sector undertakings to explore minerals in areas under their jurisdiction.

"It is an important step in fulfilling the minimum government, maximum governance motto of our government," said Tomar. "This is being done to devolve more power to the states and expedite the process of mineral development in the country." States cannot lease out major minerals such as coal and iron ore without mandatory clearances from central ministries. High revenue earners, coal and iron ore, retain their positions as major minerals even after the policy shift.

The decision to broaden the list of minor minerals should drastically shorten the lease approval process because the state would be dealing with all the paperwork. Production should also increase. However, India could be treading on a minefield of environmental degradation if adequate protection measures are not taken.

Azerbaijan: Construction materials producers manufactured goods worth US$585m in 2014, some 22.2% more than in the same period of 2013, according to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee's report. During the period, Azerbaijan produced 2.98Mt of cement, a 40.5% increase compared to the same period of 2013 and 192,800t of gypsum, 23.3% more than in 2013.

Nigeria: Nigeria is to benefit from a US$500m investment in a new gypsum block plant, as an alternative to the conventional cement block. It is a bid by private developers that is projected to slash the total cost of housing by 50%, according to Kingsly Uka Okoronkwo, group managing director of Ojim Royal Investment and Property Limited, a real estate developer.

Okoronkwo said that Nigeria is blessed with diverse minerals, including gypsum, which at the moment is completely untapped. When utilised, it will help tackle Nigeria's housing deficit. "If I have to quote the words of the minister of mines and steel, Nigeria has a deposit of 12Mt of gypsum spread across 17 States of the Federation," said Okoronkwo. "We hope to utilise gypsum in crashing the price of house in Nigeria and create employment for youths." He added that gypsum reduces the cost of housing by 50% because it 'takes away' painting and plastering.

The gypsum block plant is expected to take 18 months to install, although according to Okoronkwo, there have been delays due to 'bureaucratic bottlenecks, which hindered the start of work in November 2014.'

"Our partners are very eager to start off because the finance has been secured and the interest is already reading," said Okoronkwo. "We're looking at US$500m for a start. In the first year of operations, we plan to build 10,000 houses."

India: FRBPL, a joint venture of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCF), has launched the world's largest load-bearing gypsum wallboard panels, which measure 12m x 3m and 124mm thick. The panels are lightweight and waterproof. According to Ananth Kumar, the Union minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, the panels could revolutionise India's infrastructure sector.

Australia: A wet winter has delayed construction activity in key east coast markets as New South Wales experienced its wettest August in 16 years. Boral's CEO Mike Kane has told shareholders that more heavy rain could buffet earnings in its construction, materials and cement division during the rest of 2014 and 2015.

"Expectations could be dampened if we are unable to realise potential property sales and some level of price increase in this very competitive market and if we experience extended periods of adverse weather," said Kane. However, he added that Boral expected to more than double earnings in its building products division in 2014 and 2015, which made US$8m in earnings before interest and tax in the 2013 – 2014 financial year. Kane said that rising energy and labour costs remained a concern across the group.

Chairman Bob Every said that Boral expects a resources industry slowdown, particularly in Queensland. "We are expecting continued softening in roads and infrastructure activity for most of fiscal 2015 before a solid multi-year pick-up from fiscal year 2016," said Every.

"In our 2015 financial year we continue to expect ongoing strong results from construction materials and cement, improvements from both the building products and Boral USA divisions and improvements in the underlying USG Boral business," said Kane. "We anticipate return on funds employed to improve, despite the shift to equity accounting on Boral's 50% interest in the Gypsum joint venture." Boral made a net profit of US$173m in ist 2014 financial year, an improvement on a US$212m loss suffered during the previous financial year.

Every also announced his intention to stand down in 2016: "I was re-elected by shareholders at Boral's annual general meeting last year and at the time I intended that, if I was re-elected, that this would be my last term on the board. My intentions are unchanged. Therefore, I will not stand for re-election in 2016. I will work with the board to identify the best possible candidate for a successor for the role of chairman and I will help to ensure an orderly transition process."

Australia: Minotaur has signed a conditional sale agreement on its gypsum deposit at Lake Purdilla on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Minotaur will receive US$4.8m in cash for the project, which is 5-15km south of Streaky Bay. The project has a target of 50-60Mt of gypsum. The sale is subject to the unnamed buyer conducting and being satisfied with a study into a port or trans-shipment of the gypsum, plus government transfer approvals.

Minotaur managing director Andrew Woskett said that the sale was part of the company's strategy to divest from industrial minerals and concentrate on copper, nickel and gold. "We've been trying to lighten our exposure to industrial minerals," said Woskett. "That's been proceeding for some time." The sale, which is scheduled to be completed by May 2015, would deliver more than the book value of the project. Earlier studies found that engineering work on a port was viable, but there were now more options, including barging and containerisation.

Russia: The Ural-based company Bergauf Building Materials has purchased a production facility in Sterlitamak in the Bashkortostan Republic, Volga, from HeidelbergCement. The deal included a plant producing dry mortars under the brand Bystroy and a gypsum production complex. The price of the assets has not been reported.

US: Harrison Gypsum LLC, a producer of gypsum and plaster products, has acquired the Gravel Company LLC, a producer of aggregate materials for the construction industry. Both companies are based in the US. The acquisition will allow Harrison Gypsum to expand its operations in the Eagle Ford region in South Texas.

UK: Cuddy Recycling Ltd, a start up company that is supported by the Welsh Government, plans to invest Euro1.49m to create the first wood, wallboard and gypsum recycling centre in South Wales. It will create 22 jobs.

Backed by Euro285,000 from the Welsh Economic Growth Fund, the purpose-built centre will be based on the former Wern Works site in Briton Ferry, Neath Port Talbot which, subject to planning, will be partially demolished and redeveloped. The new centre will process and recycle demolition aggregate from construction and demolition projects across Wales, as well as waste timber and wallboard from the construction industry and civil amenity sites.

It aims to provide a green alternative to landfill with waste timber used for animal bedding, panel board manufacture and biomass fuel, with the option of introducing a garden mulch product at a later date.

Aggregates will be sorted for reuse in construction companies. Wallboard will, where possible, be taken back to wallboard manufacture, or the gypsum recycled as a soil conditioner for agricultural purposes. There is also potential for use as a cement additive.

"This project supports two of our key economic sectors, providing a specific service for the construction sector while the new business will operate in the energy and environment industry, one of the fastest growing sectors in the Welsh economy with waste management - the largest sub sector," said economy minister Edwina Hart. "Companies working in this area are not only making a significant contribution in terms of job creation and financial impact, but by reducing waste to landfill they are helping us achieve recycling targets and ensure that we create a sustainable environment for future generations. The proposed new centre will provide an important facility to deal with construction and demolition waste and I am pleased to support this new start up through the Economic Growth Fund."

US: Louisville's Charah Inc uses by-product gypsum from a local coal plant to make a fertiliser, SUL4R-PLUS, which is used by domestic and international farmers. Charah has now announced plans to expand its operations as demand grows.

In April 2013, Charah opened a US$14m plant at Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville to produce SUL4R-PLUS after recognising a market for it in the agricultural industry. The sulphur content in local soil has fallen significantly in recent years as high-yield farming has pulled more of it out of the ground.

Charah gets gypsum powder from the Mill Creek facility and makes it into fertiliser pellets using several additives. It then sells the pellets to distributors. SUL4R-PLUS is now used in several states, including Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and other countries, including Canada and the Dominican Republic.

Due to its popularity, company officials have stated that they plan to expand operations with the introduction of a second production line at the Mill Creek production facility. In the future, it could also build production lines at other power plants it works with around the country.