UK: David Ball Group has run a series of trials with Bouygues UK of its Cemfree concrete product at a redevelopment scheme at the Gascoigne Housing Estate in Barking, London. The group says that the trial went ‘exceptionally’ well and teaming Cemfree with Bouygues UK further down the line on future projects looks ‘hopeful.’ Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS).

“We are always looking for new ways to innovate, and the carbon-saving potential of Cemfree is considerable. Initial trials have been very positive and we will continue to explore its potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete – a hugely exciting possibility,” said Jean-Marie Perret, a project manager for Bouygues UK, who is leading the Cemfree trials for the Gascoigne Estate.

India: Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) is repairing its blast furnace at its 1.1Mt/yr integrated iron and steel plant at Kalinga Nagar in Odisha. The blow down process of the blast furnace, which had been commissioned in 2002, started in late November 2017, according to the Press Trust of India. The work is scheduled for completion by the end of February 2018. The unit produces granulated slag, as well as steel billets, pig iron, Low Ash Metallurgical (LAM) coke, nut coke, coke breeze, crude tar and ammonium sulphate.

US: Residents in Anaconda, Montana have put questions to a proposed copper slag processing plant project as part of a community outreach initiative. Premier Industries wants to build a plant to use copper slag left over from the local copper industry to produce proppant, a material used in oil fracking and natural gas extraction, according to the Montana Standard newspaper. The project, first announced in early 2016, is scheduled to start operation by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Questions from the local community covered jobs, the financial viability of the project and increased traffic.

UK: Gary Brennand has been appointed as the Group Commercial Manager at David Ball Group. He has worked in the construction materials industry for 17 years, starting his career as an aggregates and asphalt technician before moving on to commercial, operational and general management roles in companies such as Aggregate Industries, Hope Cement and the Breedon Group. Brennand holds an MBA in Business Administration.