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FOCUS (giving competitors outside Europe an “unearned advantage”), continued investment flight to the less industrialised countries, mismanagement of inventories and possible specifically European weaknesses in the general worldwide economic recovery. Reg Adams (1) “Economic and chemical industry outlook” by David Thomas, presented at the CIA Chemical Business Outlook Conference, London, 29 Jan 2004. Copies of the full paper are available from the CIA. Tel: +44 (0)20 7963 6707
PLANTS Brazil: Cadam – kaolin Caulim da Amazonia (Cadam) can currently produce up to 1 M tonnes/y of kaolin from the Morro de Felipe mine on the Rio Jari in Amapa state. The Rio Jari can accommodate ships up to 30,000 tonnes dwt and so the kaolin, produced at the Munguba processing facility on the Rio Jari, can be loaded directly into ocean-going vessels, bound for customers in Europe, Asia, South Africa and the Americas. From Caemi’s capital investment total of $101 M for 2004, a budget of $24.2 M has been earmarked for Cadam. Of this, $6.3 M will be spent on equipment replacement and information technology, while $17.9 M will be devoted to improvements in mining efficiency and the upgrading of a spray-dryer. BNAmericas Mining News, 2 Feb 2004 (Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Para Pigmentos – kaolin Para Pigmentos was established in 1992 and began mining kaolin deposits near the Rio Capim in 1996. The company is now owned 80% by Cia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) and 20% by the Mitsubishi group. The ore is processed at a plant at Ipixuna and from there it is sent by pipeline in slurry form for loading at the port of Barcarena. Kaolin production here is steadily increasing and the latest set of production statistics released by CVRD show that the company set a new annual output record of 423,000 tonnes in 2003 and a new quarterly
MARCH 2004
ON
PIGMENTS
record of 127,000 tonnes in 4Q 2003. Initial kaolin capacity at Ipixuna was 300,000 tonnes/y and this was doubled to 600,000 tonnes/y in the late 1990s. The long-standing objective is to increase kaolin capacity to 1 M tonnes/y.
capacity at its plastics colorants plant in Thailand – from the current level of 40,000 tonnes/y to 50,000 tonnes/y.
Production report from: Cia Vale do Rio Doce, Av Graca Aranha, 26-16 andar, Castelo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tel: +55 21 3814 4978, Fax: +55 21 3814 4453, Website: http://www.cvrd.com.br (Jan 2004)
The formal agreement creating the joint venture between Cabot Corp and Bluestar New Chemical Materials was signed in the Great Hall of the People in early February 2004. The joint venture company – Cabot Bluestar Chemical – is owned 90% by Cabot, 10% by Bluestar and it is committed to spending $30 M to build the country’s first worldclass fumed silica plant near Nanchang (Jiangxi province). Construction of the plant will begin in Spring 2004 and should be completed by the end of 2005. It will be Cabot’s sixth fumed silica plant, the others being located in the US and Europe. Capacity details were not mentioned in this press-release, but earlier reports had indicated 5000 tonnes/y as the probable scale. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2003, 2).
Canada: Western Oil Sands & Altair – TiO2 feedstock & pigment Altair Nanotechnologies (of Reno, NV) has licensed Western Oil Sands (of Canada) to use the Altair hydrochloride pigment (AHP) process for the manufacture of TiO2 pigment. The AHP process entails continuous leaching or digestion of a titaniferous ore in hydrochloric acid under specified conditions of concentration, temperature and pressure; removal of iron by chemical treatment, followed by crystallisation; conversion of titanyl chloride to dry titanium hydroxide crystallites under “unique operating conditions”; seeding or doping of the crystallites and controlled conversion to crystalline TiO2 of the desired form (anatase or rutile) and particle size; finishing and packaging; and finally acid recycling plus recovery of solid iron oxides. The Athabasca tar sands in Alberta are being exploited by a number of companies for the production of crude oil and petroleum products. The tailings are known to be rich in heavy minerals and Western Oil Sands plans to extract ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile from the tailings. The next stage will be to use these titaniferous feedstocks for the manufacture of TiO2 pigment by the AHP process. European Chemical News, 2 Feb 2004, 80 (2085), 26
China & Thailand: Dainichiseika – plastics colorants Dainichiseika (of Japan) has announced plans to build its third plant in China for the production of plastics colorants. The company also plans to expand its existing plants at Dongguan (current capacity 20,000 tonnes/y) and Shenzhen (current capacity 10,000 tonnes/y). The company is also stepping up
Japan Chemical Week, 15 Jan 2004, 45 (2253), 14
China: Cabot Bluestar – fumed silica
Press release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (2 Feb 2004)
China: Shanghai Cabot – carbon black Shanghai Cabot has reported the completion of the 50,000 tonnes/y expansion at the carbon black plant in Shanghai. This brings total capacity here to 130,000 tonnes/y. Shanghai Cabot is owned 70% by Cabot Corp and 30% by Shanghai Coking Chemical Co. Cabot Corp has been running chemical operations in China for more than 10 years and it recently created a new holding company – Cabot (China) Ltd – to manage all its businesses, investments and resources in China. As a centralised facility, the company plans to build a state-of-the-art laboratory in Shanghai to support its customers located throughout the Asia Pacific region. Press release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (5 Feb 2004)
Czech Republic: Colorobbia/Bitossi – zircon & ceramic semis Colorobbia, an affiliate of Industrie Bitossi, had outlined plans to build a
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PLANTS Brazil: Cadam – kaolin Caulim da Amazonia (Cadam) can currently produce up to 1 M tonnes/y of kaolin from the Morro de Felipe mine on the Rio Jari in Amapa state. The Rio Jari can accommodate ships up to 30,000 tonnes dwt and so the kaolin, produced at the Munguba processing facility on the Rio Jari, can be loaded directly into ocean-going vessels, bound for customers in Europe, Asia, South Africa and the Americas. From Caemi’s capital investment total of $101 M for 2004, a budget of $24.2 M has been earmarked for Cadam. Of this, $6.3 M will be spent on equipment replacement and information technology, while $17.9 M will be devoted to improvements in mining efficiency and the upgrading of a spray-dryer. BNAmericas Mining News, 2 Feb 2004 (Website: http://www.Bnamericas.com)
Brazil: Para Pigmentos – kaolin Para Pigmentos was established in 1992 and began mining kaolin deposits near the Rio Capim in 1996. The company is now owned 80% by Cia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) and 20% by the Mitsubishi group. The ore is processed at a plant at Ipixuna and from there it is sent by pipeline in slurry form for loading at the port of Barcarena. Kaolin production here is steadily increasing and the latest set of production statistics released by CVRD show that the company set a new annual output record of 423,000 tonnes in 2003 and a new quarterly
MARCH 2004
ON
PIGMENTS
record of 127,000 tonnes in 4Q 2003. Initial kaolin capacity at Ipixuna was 300,000 tonnes/y and this was doubled to 600,000 tonnes/y in the late 1990s. The long-standing objective is to increase kaolin capacity to 1 M tonnes/y.
capacity at its plastics colorants plant in Thailand – from the current level of 40,000 tonnes/y to 50,000 tonnes/y.
Production report from: Cia Vale do Rio Doce, Av Graca Aranha, 26-16 andar, Castelo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tel: +55 21 3814 4978, Fax: +55 21 3814 4453, Website: http://www.cvrd.com.br (Jan 2004)
The formal agreement creating the joint venture between Cabot Corp and Bluestar New Chemical Materials was signed in the Great Hall of the People in early February 2004. The joint venture company – Cabot Bluestar Chemical – is owned 90% by Cabot, 10% by Bluestar and it is committed to spending $30 M to build the country’s first worldclass fumed silica plant near Nanchang (Jiangxi province). Construction of the plant will begin in Spring 2004 and should be completed by the end of 2005. It will be Cabot’s sixth fumed silica plant, the others being located in the US and Europe. Capacity details were not mentioned in this press-release, but earlier reports had indicated 5000 tonnes/y as the probable scale. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2003, 2).
Canada: Western Oil Sands & Altair – TiO2 feedstock & pigment Altair Nanotechnologies (of Reno, NV) has licensed Western Oil Sands (of Canada) to use the Altair hydrochloride pigment (AHP) process for the manufacture of TiO2 pigment. The AHP process entails continuous leaching or digestion of a titaniferous ore in hydrochloric acid under specified conditions of concentration, temperature and pressure; removal of iron by chemical treatment, followed by crystallisation; conversion of titanyl chloride to dry titanium hydroxide crystallites under “unique operating conditions”; seeding or doping of the crystallites and controlled conversion to crystalline TiO2 of the desired form (anatase or rutile) and particle size; finishing and packaging; and finally acid recycling plus recovery of solid iron oxides. The Athabasca tar sands in Alberta are being exploited by a number of companies for the production of crude oil and petroleum products. The tailings are known to be rich in heavy minerals and Western Oil Sands plans to extract ilmenite, leucoxene and rutile from the tailings. The next stage will be to use these titaniferous feedstocks for the manufacture of TiO2 pigment by the AHP process. European Chemical News, 2 Feb 2004, 80 (2085), 26
China & Thailand: Dainichiseika – plastics colorants Dainichiseika (of Japan) has announced plans to build its third plant in China for the production of plastics colorants. The company also plans to expand its existing plants at Dongguan (current capacity 20,000 tonnes/y) and Shenzhen (current capacity 10,000 tonnes/y). The company is also stepping up
Japan Chemical Week, 15 Jan 2004, 45 (2253), 14
China: Cabot Bluestar – fumed silica
Press release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (2 Feb 2004)
China: Shanghai Cabot – carbon black Shanghai Cabot has reported the completion of the 50,000 tonnes/y expansion at the carbon black plant in Shanghai. This brings total capacity here to 130,000 tonnes/y. Shanghai Cabot is owned 70% by Cabot Corp and 30% by Shanghai Coking Chemical Co. Cabot Corp has been running chemical operations in China for more than 10 years and it recently created a new holding company – Cabot (China) Ltd – to manage all its businesses, investments and resources in China. As a centralised facility, the company plans to build a state-of-the-art laboratory in Shanghai to support its customers located throughout the Asia Pacific region. Press release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane, Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabot-corp.com (5 Feb 2004)
Czech Republic: Colorobbia/Bitossi – zircon & ceramic semis Colorobbia, an affiliate of Industrie Bitossi, had outlined plans to build a
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