Gypsum industry news

US: American Gypsum has received a licence from the Eagle County Board of Commissioners for the expansion of its 336ha Eagle County opencast gypsum mine near Gypsum, Colorado by 12% to 376ha. The Vail Daily newspaper has reported that the expansion will secure the company’s nearby gypsum wallboard plant’s raw material supply until 2046.

Plant manager Chuck Zaruba said “As the state continues to grow, we are an essential product for that to occur.” He added that the producer’s local operations provide more than 100 year-round jobs.

New Zealand: The New Zealand government has announced the lifting of Level 4 lockdown outside of Auckland. Radio New Zealand News has reported that this will enable construction to resume. Inside Auckland, gypsum wallboard is among four ‘critical products’ that the government has allowed to resume production.

The Building Industry Federation (BIF) said that the government had listened to suppliers' concerns.

Oman: Zawawi Minerals has published a report in which it forecasts 11% year-on-year growth in gypsum exports, to 10.0Mt in 2020 from 9.00Mt in 2019. The report notes that Oman’s consistent supply of gypsum makes it the most important supplier to the Asian and South/East African regions. It contrasts the fitness of the Omani gypsum sector for exports with that of Pakistan, where bilateral trade with neighbouring India has been suspended since 7 August 2019.