Gypsum industry news

Serbia: Elektroprivreda Srbije, a government-owned power company, has completed a Euro14m terminal on the River Danube for its Kostolac B coal-fired power plant. The unit will be use to transport 105,000t/yr of synthetic gypsum and 157,000/yr of fly ash. It will also process limestone. The terminal was built as part of the first phase of a credit arrangement between Serbia and China.

Indonesia: Vanguard Mining Corporation (VNMC) has declared that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to purchase an 80% equity interest in Yupolo Resources in exchange for a combination of cash and stock.

VNMC and Yupolo Resources will co-develop a 35km2 gypsum and limestone concession in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. The mine is 4km from the newly-expanded Menanga Sea Port. The gypsum deposits at the concession are of high quality (purity of 85 - 95%) and estimated to be in excess of 30Mt, while the limestone deposits are about 400Mt.

The two companies plan to establish the concession in four stages: Stage 1 includes the gypsum and limestone mining to produce up to 2Mt/yr of gypsum and limestone by the second year of production. Products will be sold to local markets and exports, for which Yupolo Resources already has committed buyers. Stage 2 will consist of the construction of a 2.5Mt/yr capacity clinker plant. The clinker would be supplied to cement plants in the local region. Stage 3 involves the construction of a mini cement plant with 0.1Mt/yr of production capacity. Cement consumption in the surrounding areas is more than 3Mt/yr and has a double-digit growth rate. Stage 4 includes the construction of an integrated 1.2Mt/yr capacity cement plant.

Choky Simanjuntak, chairman and CEO of Yupolo Resources, said "We are pleased to cooperate with Vanguard Mining Corporation to develop this concession and are confident that our products will be able to meet part of the growing demand of gypsum, limestone, clinker and cement for the domestic, as well as the export markets."

Ethiopia: The Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) has identified 20 new mineral deposits. Eighteen of the deposits contained gypsum, limestone, marble and potash. Nineteen of the deposits were found in Oromia Region. The 20th, a coal deposit, was found in Wolkite Town, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region.