Lafarge checking on Europe French diplomatic sources in Belgrade indicated that the international giant Lafarge is interested in investing in a cement plant in Beocin, 80 km northwest of the Yugoslav capital, according to the Tanjug news agency.

The report suggested that there would be no redundancies at the Beocin plant if the investment went ahead. Details were revealed during talks between French and Yugoslav officials in early January.

Turkish exports up Turkey exported cement and rock products worth US$769 million in 1997, an increase of 29% over the previous year, according to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). Exports for 1996 were to the value of US$655 million.

Tax on quarrying debate Opponents of a tax on quarrying being proposed by the UK government began lobbying recently in the country's House of Lords (Upper House). Lord Glenarthur, who works for Hanson Plc told the House, "There is no case for a tax to improve the behavior of the industry. If government wants to make the industry do more, they can surely use the tried and tested method of increasing regulation.

"Forty percent of quarry products are bought by the public sector. Any rise in construction costs would have a direct financial impact on both central and local government. It is the taxpayer who would be left to pick up this bill."

Lord Glenarthur asked the House to recognize the importance of the quarrying industry and to ensure that the government "thinks twice" before taking action.

Blue Circle tenders UK-based Blue Circle Cement is drawing up a list of potential bidders for its US$290 million replacement cement works in the southeast of England.

The project, to be known as the Medway Works, will be going out to selective tender in 1999, with a contractor to be chosen later that year. The new plant will replace the outdated Northfleet works, which is running out of raw materials. It is expected to be finalized in 2001, depending upon the outcome of the planning application, which has been lodged with the local authority.

Blue Circle said that the new works would reduce gas and particle emissions through the incorporation of the latest technology.

Goltas to double sales Turkey's cement and clinker producer Goltas Goller Bolgesi Cimento A.S. has announced plans to double its 1998 sales to US$100 million, according to a Reuters report.

Goltas expected cement sales to rise to 1.355 million mt in 1997 and is targeting sales of 1.6 million mt in 1998 with the export of clinker rising to 150,000 mt.

According to Yilmaz Kasap, general manager at Goltas, "Our ongoing investment is to meet demand until the year 2002 and afterwards, we will build a new production line with a 1 million-mt capacity."

Pfister joins FLS F.L. Smidth-Fuller Engineering A/S (FFE) and Scheugenpflug Holding GmbH (SH) of Germany signed a letter of intent, under which FFE would take over Pfister GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of SH, effective January 1998.

FFE has worked closely with the Augsburg-based Pfister GmbH for many years on weighing and proportioning systems for the cement industry; this relationship will now be formalized through joint ownership.

Pfister's Chief Executive and former owner, Maximillian Scheugenpflug, has agreed to continue as president of the company for at least another three years. Palle O. Jorgensen, CEO, FFE, will join the Pfister board as chairman.

Organizationally, Pfister will be a directly owned subsidiary of F.L. Smidth-Fuller Engineering A/S ranking on a par with the other Group members: F.L. Smidth & Co., Fuller, FLS Automation, FLS-Fuller Bulk Handling, Ventomatic, MAAG Gear, and FFE Minerals.

Blue Circle online Blue Circle Cement, the UK's leading cement manufacturer, recently paved the way to a global presence on the Internet when it launched its new web site.

According to John Drabble, the company's business information manager: "The launch of our Internet site is an important step in making information about Blue Circle and its products available to as wide an audience as possible. We plan to extend the amount of information available significantly during the rest of the year."

The site includes details of all the company's products as well as the 11 cement plants around the country. Blue Circle's site is: www.cement.bluecircle.co.uk

Romanian rail rises Gheorghe Ionescu, Economic Director at producer Romcim S.A. in Romania, said that the recent 51% increase in rail freight tariffs will adversely affect Romanian cement producers, according to the Mediafax new agency.

Romcim accounts for 50% of all Romania's cement production, and its director also suggested that the increase in tariffs would add around US$1 to US$5 per ton to the price of exported cement. Worst hit by the increase will be the Deva company, followed by Bicaz, Hoghiz, and Medgidia.

Ionescu added that Romcim could pass on the increase in rail freight charges to the consumer as transport costs account for a significant proportion of the company's overall costs. With rising transport costs, the future for the Romanian cement industry is not looking healthy, concluded the Romcim official.

As the Romanian market can consume only 50% of the country's cement production, cement producers look to exports to provide them with hard currency and cover losses from sales at home. Figures suggest that 70% to 80% of overall domestic consumption is accounted for by individuals, with only 20% to 30% going to construction companies.

Explosion deterrent What is claimed to be the first commercially available, quality-assured, expert computer system dealing with dust explosion hazards was launched by the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

DUST-EXPERT was developed for use by those involved in designing, operating, or assessing the safety of plants handling explosive dusts, which according to Keith Wilson, head of HSE's Process Safety Unit, "represents a radically new way of integrating safety into plant design."

Key elements of the system include a risk-based assessment of the level of safety integrity required from the software; an adequate functional specification of the software, selection of appropriate software development techniques, and full documentation of the whole process; and validation and verification of the final product.

HSE has appointed the Institution of Chemical Engineers as the sole distributors of the product, and details can be obtained from HSE Information Centre, Broad Lane, Sheffield, England, UK S3 7HQ; telephone: (+44) 114 289 2000.

Sealing the gaps Scientists at Nirex, a nuclear research facility in the UK, are trying to find out how high-alkali cement will influence the geological barrier of an underground repository system over many thousands of years. If the results are satisfactory, this could be a significant market for specialty cements in years to come.

The work is important because the safe disposal of intermediate-level radioactive waste in a deep rock repository depends upon the satisfactory performance of physical, chemical and geological barriers.

Work carried out in Jordan showed that the local groundwater had become hyper-alkaline by passing through deposits of naturally formed portlandite, a key mineral constituent of cement. For many centuries, cement leachates in the spring water had reacted with the host rock to seal up fractures with newly formed minerals including ettringite-thaumasite, calcium-silicate-hydrates and zeolites.

If similar reactions occur in a repository, the local groundwater pathways will eventually become blocked with these minerals, which will prevent the escape of any remaining radionuclides.

The laboratory work on the cement reaction is being carried out by the British Geological Survey, funded by Nirex, the Environment Agency, Nagra (Switzerland), and SKB of Sweden.