Gypsum industry news

Oman: The Salalah Free Zone (SFZ) has signed three agreements worth US$80m to build three plants in the area, including two gypsum wallboard plants. The other factory will produce solar panels, according to the Times of Oman newspaper. The plants will be run by foreign companies including one from the US. They will create over 250 jobs.

UK: Associated British Ports (ABP) has proposed the construction of a new gypsum wallboard plant at the Port of Newport. The project is at the planning stage with the submission of an environmental impact report to the local government. The 14,000m³ unit will be built on brownfield land south west of the port’s South Dock. It will include a simple warehouse-type structure enclosing production lines, conveyor belts, storage loading areas and two hoppers. No cost for the project has been disclosed.

Gypsum for the production line will be delivered by ship and unloaded into a quayside storage facility. Plasterboard products will be distributed from the proposed plant mainly by road although export markets by sea could be possible. It is anticipated that around 70 jobs would be created by the plant.

Mauritania: Mauritania exported 100,000t of gypsum in 2017 to markets in West and Central Africa. It was sent to Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Pan African News Agency. The country produces 200,000t/yr of gypsum, of which 15% is turned into plaster. The remaining 85% is used by the local cement industry or exported by land to Mali or by sea via the Port of Nouakchott.

Oman: Northern Ireland’s Telestack has won a Euro5.7m deal to supply a mobile shiploading system to the Port of Salalah. The system will be used to load gypsum, limestone, and cement clinker and will be operational later in 2018, according to the Irish News newspaper. The project is part of an on-going Euro17bn government infrastructure investment to support mining, quarrying and the cement industry. It is Telestack’s largest single order to date.

Australia: The Port of Bundaberg has received its first shipment of gypsum for the new Knauf Plasterboard wallboard plant that has been built there. The US$55m plant has recently been constructed at the port, according to Australian Government News. The port expects to receive a gypsum shipment every two to three months from now on. The wallboard plant is expected to officially open in August 2017.

US: The Port of Monroe and DTE Energy have officially announced a partnership for the port to manage synthetic gypsum, a by-product of the Monroe Power Plant in Michigan.

"This is more than an agreement, but a partnership for mutual prosperity," said Paul C LaMarre III, Port Director. The partnership will bring new jobs to the community and help grow the economy, officials said. About 30 full-time jobs will be created. The port will build a 24,000ft2 storage building on its property, allowing gypsum customers to have direct shipping access to the material year-round.

Brian Rice, Director of the Monroe Power Plant, said that the company has been seeking a partner for a while to manage gypsum. "We wanted to work with someone locally," said Rice.
The Monroe Power Plant is one of the five-largest coal plants in the country and is the only plant in Michigan operating the flue gas desulfurisation system. "The advantage to this agreement is that it allows us to recycle all of it," said Rice about the gypsum.

In 2014, DTE recycled more than 350,000t of gypsum. Monroe Mayor Robert E. Clark called the partnership 'a great opportunity' between partners who have already had a long established relationship. "Outbound cargo is being generated and our community is better for it," said LaMarre.