Marking milestones with a new mill at Minas
Published by David Bizley,
Editor
World Cement,
Cementos Artigas, a Uruguayan company owned by Cementos Molins and Votorantim Cimentos, has worked on a recent US$40 million renewal project at the heart of the Minas plant, continuing an ongoing drive to centralise operations and raise sustainability standards.
Cementos Artigas’ investment in the Minas plant entails a significant boost in cost efficiency and a notable improvement in environmental and sustainability indicators, consolidating the company as a leader in the Uruguayan market.
The plant’s new integrated production line represents a significant milestone for the company. Cementos Artigas has focused on transforming mining and industrial activities in Uruguay to achieve more sustainable operations with its factories, a mission that the company shares with Cementos Molins and Votorantim Cimentos. In fact, thanks to this investment, Cementos Artigas’ new cement mill consumes up to 40% less energy than the previous one, and by centralising logistics in Minas, the company can reduce its carbon dioxide emissions associated with freight. Thanks to this project, the consolidation of both modules at the foot of the Minas quarry has resulted in substantial risk reduction as well as opportunities for cost savings. Also, in terms of cement production capacity, the new plant has allowed Cementos Artigas to go from 1650 tpd to 1800 tpd. The company is now capable of producing over 650 000 tpy of cement.
Main project drivers
Cementos Artigas’ production line was, until early this year, distributed in two locations: a clinker plant in Minas and its cement grinding and dispatch plant in Montevideo.
The company developed a plan to integrate its grinding and dispatch plants, as well as its offices, into its Minas plant. It all came together under ‘Project Integrated’, which was designed to structurally change the company’s operating model, making it more efficient and managing to significantly reduce its costs. In addition, Cementos Artigas had very clear sustainability-driven goals. With one unified structure, the company’s mission was to substantially reduce carbon emissions based on two main pillars: a new high-efficiency cement mill and reduced freight requirements due to the optimised logistics of unifying the company’s plants in one location, right beside the limestone quarry.
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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/02082023/marking-milestones-with-a-new-mill-at-minas/
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