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Brazil: Cadam — kaolin
F O C US mineral flame retardants for small domestic electrical appliances; highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) for railroad ties and pallets; nanocomposites for automotive exterior components. Demand growth rates for each of these applications are forecast to exceed 10%/y. The overall consumption of minerals in plastics is expected to rise at more than 5%/y for the foreseeable future. Press release from: Principia Partners, PO Box 611, Exton, PA 19341, USA. Tel: +1 800 378 8330. Fax: +1 484 214 0172. Website: http://www.principiaconsulting.com (27 May 2003)
Eurocolour – new trade federation for colorant producers A number of major producers of coloured dyes and pigments have have established Eurocolour as a new trade federation for disseminating information and for lobbying politicians on matters of common interest. Founder members include: BASF, Bayer, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Clariant, Degussa, DyStar and Ferro. The European market for coloured dyes and pigments is said to be worth €8 bn. Employment in the industry is around 20,000, with the major producers being based in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. Press release from: Eurocolour, c/o Cefic, Av E.Nieuwenhuyse 4, Box 2, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium (11 Mar 2003) & Chimie Hebdo, 17 Mar 2003, (206), 13 (in French)
Scope for improvement in Czech paint In recent years, rising demand for paint in the Czech Republic has been increasingly met by imports, while domestic paint production has declined. In 2001, Czech paint output fell by 6% to 58,730 tonnes, while imports rose to 59,594 tonnes. There is plenty of scope for investment to improve prospects for the Czech paintmakers. Balakom (a subsidiary of Sefra of Austria) is the country’s largest producer, with a capacity of 8000 tonnes/y and annual sales of CEK 575.9 M. Other significant paint producers are: Colorlak (with a capacity of 6500 tonnes/y); Barvy Tebas (4000 tonnes/y); Barvy Laky Praha (4000 tonnes/y); and Primalex (3500 tonnes/y). Farbe und Lack, Jan 2003, 109 (1), 17 (in German) & European Chemical News, 9 Jun 2003, 78 (2056 Czech Republic country profile), x-xi
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PLANTS Brazil: Cadam – kaolin Caulim da Amazonia (Cadam) and Mitsui have signed a contract under which Cadam will supply Mitsui with a total of 850,000 tonnes of kaolin over five years. All this material will be destined for the Japanese market. The contract is valued at about $100 M and it reaffirms the continuing rapport between Cadam and Mitsui in the wake of Mitsui’s sale to CVRD of its entire shareholding in Cadam’s parent company, Caemi. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Apr 2003, 6). Moreover, the contract will help to underpin Cadam’s expansion plans. Currently, the company has the capacity to produce 800,000 tonnes/y of kaolin from its mines in the northern province of Amapa. Cadam’s forward plan entails investing $30 M to raise kaolin capacity to 1 M tonnes/y during 2006/07. BNAmericas Mining News, 6 May 2003, (Business News Americas Ltda. Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Millennium Chemicals – TiO2 feedstock & pigment Early in 2000, Millennium announced that it was spending $31 M to upgrade its Mataraca mineral sands facilities in northeastern Brazil. The upgrade included installing a dredge, with some ancillary processing equipment, replacing a former dry-mining operation. Ilmenite capacity was to be raised from 100,000 tonnes/y to 120,000 tonnes/y and the production of by-product rutile and zircon was to be stepped up accordingly. In fact, the first stage – raising capacity to 110,000 tonnes/y – was completed in 2001; the second stage – raising capacity to 120,000 tonnes/y – was completed last year. All the ilmenite produced at Mataraca is used as feedstock for Millennium’s sulfateroute TiO2 pigment plant, further down the coast, at Arembepe (near Camacari in Bahia province). In June 2001, Millennium reportedly confirmed its intention to expand the Arembepe pigment plant from 60,000 tonnes/y to 80,000 tonnes/y within a year (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Aug 2001, 4). However, it is now clear that this project never
actually took off. The company recently stated that the 20,000 tonnes/y pigment expansion project “remains on hold, until economic conditions improve.” BNAmericas Mining News, 4 Jun 2003 (Business News Americas Ltda. Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Votorantim – ZnO Votorantim has won a contract to supply pharmaceutical-grade zinc oxide to the Japanese market. The contract provides for shipments of 60 tonnes in 2003, rising to 160-200 tonnes in 2004. BNAmericas Mining News, 6 Jun 2003 (Business News Americas Ltda, Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Canada: Clariant – plastics masterbatch Clariant inherited a 1500 tonnes/y plastics masterbatch plant at Delta, BC, when it acquired Quality Colors Ltd recently. Clariant is now spending C$1 M to upgrade the plant, boosting its capacity to 1800 tonnes/y. The plant has already begun producing a new line of PVC-based colour concentrates. Chemical Week, 4 Jun 2003, 165 (20), 29
China: Anhui Chaodong Jinghua – nanoparticulate calcium carbonate Anhui Chaodong Jinghua Calcium Industry New Materials Co Ltd has reportedly begun construction work on a 30,000 tonnes/y nanoparticulate calcium carbonate plant in Qinyang county, Anhui province. This plant is intended to represent the first phase of a project to establish total capacity of 150,000 tonnes/y here. It is not clear if this project is the same as the Anhui Nano project at Hanshan, on which work reportedly began about 18 months ago. See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Jan 2002, 5. China Chemical Reporter, 26 Apr 2003, 14 (12), 11
Czech Republic: Precheza – TiO2 Precheza is steadily moving towards realisation of its long-term plan to increase its TiO2 capacity at Prerov to 50,000 tonnes/y. This was part of a $24 M programme, which also
JULY 2003
Eurocolour – new trade federation for colorant producers A number of major producers of coloured dyes and pigments have have established Eurocolour as a new trade federation for disseminating information and for lobbying politicians on matters of common interest. Founder members include: BASF, Bayer, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Clariant, Degussa, DyStar and Ferro. The European market for coloured dyes and pigments is said to be worth €8 bn. Employment in the industry is around 20,000, with the major producers being based in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. Press release from: Eurocolour, c/o Cefic, Av E.Nieuwenhuyse 4, Box 2, B-1160 Brussels, Belgium (11 Mar 2003) & Chimie Hebdo, 17 Mar 2003, (206), 13 (in French)
Scope for improvement in Czech paint In recent years, rising demand for paint in the Czech Republic has been increasingly met by imports, while domestic paint production has declined. In 2001, Czech paint output fell by 6% to 58,730 tonnes, while imports rose to 59,594 tonnes. There is plenty of scope for investment to improve prospects for the Czech paintmakers. Balakom (a subsidiary of Sefra of Austria) is the country’s largest producer, with a capacity of 8000 tonnes/y and annual sales of CEK 575.9 M. Other significant paint producers are: Colorlak (with a capacity of 6500 tonnes/y); Barvy Tebas (4000 tonnes/y); Barvy Laky Praha (4000 tonnes/y); and Primalex (3500 tonnes/y). Farbe und Lack, Jan 2003, 109 (1), 17 (in German) & European Chemical News, 9 Jun 2003, 78 (2056 Czech Republic country profile), x-xi
4
O N
PIGMENTS
PLANTS Brazil: Cadam – kaolin Caulim da Amazonia (Cadam) and Mitsui have signed a contract under which Cadam will supply Mitsui with a total of 850,000 tonnes of kaolin over five years. All this material will be destined for the Japanese market. The contract is valued at about $100 M and it reaffirms the continuing rapport between Cadam and Mitsui in the wake of Mitsui’s sale to CVRD of its entire shareholding in Cadam’s parent company, Caemi. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Apr 2003, 6). Moreover, the contract will help to underpin Cadam’s expansion plans. Currently, the company has the capacity to produce 800,000 tonnes/y of kaolin from its mines in the northern province of Amapa. Cadam’s forward plan entails investing $30 M to raise kaolin capacity to 1 M tonnes/y during 2006/07. BNAmericas Mining News, 6 May 2003, (Business News Americas Ltda. Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Millennium Chemicals – TiO2 feedstock & pigment Early in 2000, Millennium announced that it was spending $31 M to upgrade its Mataraca mineral sands facilities in northeastern Brazil. The upgrade included installing a dredge, with some ancillary processing equipment, replacing a former dry-mining operation. Ilmenite capacity was to be raised from 100,000 tonnes/y to 120,000 tonnes/y and the production of by-product rutile and zircon was to be stepped up accordingly. In fact, the first stage – raising capacity to 110,000 tonnes/y – was completed in 2001; the second stage – raising capacity to 120,000 tonnes/y – was completed last year. All the ilmenite produced at Mataraca is used as feedstock for Millennium’s sulfateroute TiO2 pigment plant, further down the coast, at Arembepe (near Camacari in Bahia province). In June 2001, Millennium reportedly confirmed its intention to expand the Arembepe pigment plant from 60,000 tonnes/y to 80,000 tonnes/y within a year (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Aug 2001, 4). However, it is now clear that this project never
actually took off. The company recently stated that the 20,000 tonnes/y pigment expansion project “remains on hold, until economic conditions improve.” BNAmericas Mining News, 4 Jun 2003 (Business News Americas Ltda. Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Votorantim – ZnO Votorantim has won a contract to supply pharmaceutical-grade zinc oxide to the Japanese market. The contract provides for shipments of 60 tonnes in 2003, rising to 160-200 tonnes in 2004. BNAmericas Mining News, 6 Jun 2003 (Business News Americas Ltda, Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Canada: Clariant – plastics masterbatch Clariant inherited a 1500 tonnes/y plastics masterbatch plant at Delta, BC, when it acquired Quality Colors Ltd recently. Clariant is now spending C$1 M to upgrade the plant, boosting its capacity to 1800 tonnes/y. The plant has already begun producing a new line of PVC-based colour concentrates. Chemical Week, 4 Jun 2003, 165 (20), 29
China: Anhui Chaodong Jinghua – nanoparticulate calcium carbonate Anhui Chaodong Jinghua Calcium Industry New Materials Co Ltd has reportedly begun construction work on a 30,000 tonnes/y nanoparticulate calcium carbonate plant in Qinyang county, Anhui province. This plant is intended to represent the first phase of a project to establish total capacity of 150,000 tonnes/y here. It is not clear if this project is the same as the Anhui Nano project at Hanshan, on which work reportedly began about 18 months ago. See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Jan 2002, 5. China Chemical Reporter, 26 Apr 2003, 14 (12), 11
Czech Republic: Precheza – TiO2 Precheza is steadily moving towards realisation of its long-term plan to increase its TiO2 capacity at Prerov to 50,000 tonnes/y. This was part of a $24 M programme, which also
JULY 2003