Gypsum industry news

Canada: Saint-Gobain Canada has scaled up its Kootenay West, British Columbia, gypsum mine to full production capacity of 400,000t/yr. The mine supplies gypsum wallboard subsidiary CertainTeed Canada's Calgary and Vancouver plants. It has an anticipated operational lifespan of 40 years and employs 30 people. The mine will replace the role of the Windermere gypsum mine in Saint-Gobain Canada’s gypsum wallboard operations. The Windermere mine will continue to operate for another 15 years, supplying customers in the agriculture and cement sectors. The company first broke ground on the new mine at Kootenay West in 2019.

CertainTeed Canada has initiated permitting for the construction of a rail loadout at the Kootenay West mine. When commissioned, the facility will reduce the total annual distance of gypsum transported between Kootenay West and the company’s gypsum wallboard plants by 94% from 4.5 million kilometres to 250,000km.

CEO Jean-Claude Lasserre said "It is with great pride that we officially launch full operations of our Kootenay West gypsum mine in British Columbia, a strategic expansion of our presence in Canada, strengthening our operations to continue meeting the construction market demand.”

Norway/Sweden: NOAH has launched a circular gypsum production partnership with Sweden-based climate control equipment producer Munters Group and utilities provider Stockholm Exergi. NOAH will produce 6500t/yr of gypsum at its Langøya test centre in Norway using 4.3t/day of salt residues from Munters Group's Tobo plant in Sweden, and fly ash and tin acid supplied by Stockholm Exergi. A planned 30,000t/yr gypsum wallboard? plant will follow. NOAH has signed a letter of intent with gypsum wallboard producer Norgips for the supply of its gypsum for use in wallboard production.

CEO at Norgips Christian Stålem said “We are creating a circular value chain where industrial residues become gypsum.”

Uzbekistan: China-based Sinoma Energy Conservation has participated in discussions with the Uzbek government over potential gypsum exploration projects in Jizzakh Region. Trend News has reported that other topics under discussion between the parties included wind turbine production and the establishment of an energy hub. They now plan to move ahead with ‘preparatory activities’ for the proposed projects.

Oman: The Omani government has granted a mandate to Minerals Development Oman subsidiary Oman Minerals Trading Company to manage marketing and export of the country’s gypsum and chrome ore. The mandate imposes new rules that require the Omani gypsum trade to prioritise the local market over exports. A new supplier and buyer registration programme will launch in mid-late 2025, in advance of full implementation of the new system in May 2026.

Minerals Development Oman CEO Mattar Salim Al Badi said "We deeply value the Ministry of Energy and Minerals' trust in tasking the Oman Minerals Trading Company with organising and exporting gypsum and chrome ores. This authorisation marks a strategic milestone, poised to boost supply chain efficiency, unify marketing efforts and ensure transparent, fair pricing."

Oman produced 14Mt of gypsum across 15 licensed mines in 2024.

US: HydroBlok, which produces the extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam-core HydroBlok One wallboard, has raised US$6m in an extended Series A funding round. Pier 88 Investment Partners and Andina Capital Partners led the round. MarketLine News has reported that HydroBlok will use the capital infusion to accelerate its production roll-out in the US.

HydroBlok One is lightweight, waterproof and mould-resistant that halves build times and reduces costs by 30% compared with conventional gypsum wallboard, according to the developer.

CEO and co-founder Colin House said "I've never witnessed a response quite like this. Seeing builders light up when they grasp the time and cost savings of HydroBlok One is incredibly rewarding."

Russia: UGMK’s Nadezhdinsky metallurgical plant in Serov will soon become a source of gypsum, following the installation of a flue gas desulphurisation system. Metals Daily News has reported that commissioning is scheduled for 2027.

Canada: Minerals company EDM Resources has entered a definitive gypsum offtake agreement with a ‘large, vertically-integrated’ gypsum and gypsum wallboard producer for the supply of US$58m-worth of gypsum from its Scotia mine near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Under the terms of the agreement, the buyer will make an advance payment of US$250,000 for five-year exclusivity on gypsum from the mine. The agreement is based on projected volumes over a 10-year period and covers half of the mine’s 5.1Mt reserves, including 1.53Mt of 93% purity and 3.65Mt of 91% purity gypsum.

EDM Resources President and CEO Mark Haywood said "We are very pleased to secure this third revenue stream opportunity for our Scotia Mine, in addition to other minerals streams."

Serbia: Japan-based Mitsubishi Power has installed all major equipment and completed 96% of construction of a €220m flue gas desulphurisation installation at state-owned utilities provider EPS’ Nikola Tesla B coal-fired power plant in Belgrade. EPS will supply gypsum generated by the system for use in local construction. The Japan International Cooperation Agency supplied financial support for the project.

Mitsubishi Power previously commenced trials of a similar system at the neighbouring Nikola Tesla A power plant in April 2024.

Kenya: The Kenyan government says that it is intensifying efforts to curb illegal gypsum mining, which is ‘rampant’ in the cement industry. Kenya News has reported that Cabinet Secretary Hassan Ali Joho claimed that 3000 unlicensed mines have already closed due to government actions since the beginning of 2022.

Joho said that Kenya’s cement sector has been ‘buying and using gypsum in cement manufacturing,’ however “There is no record of anyone licensed to mine gypsum in Kenya. There are no records on production, payment of taxes and royalties or community programmes undertaken by any gypsum dealer.” He added that this is because “They are doing it illegally.”

Ukraine: Knauf Ukraine has begun building its upcoming US$150m, 30Mm²/yr Ternopil gypsum wallboard plant in Ukraine, at Borshchiv in South Ukraine. Ukrainska Pravda News has reported that the plant will also produce 320,000t/yr of dry building mixes. Knauf Ukraine already operates a gypsum mine near the site.

Knauf Ukraine’s existing 25Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard and 200,000t/yr dry mix plant in Kyiv, Central Ukraine, employs 425 people, over 200 of them resituated from Knauf’s former Soledar operations in Russian-occupied Eastern Ukraine.