Ciments du Maroc to invest in grinding unit

Ciments du Maroc will be investing MAD170m (US$20.7m) in a new grinding unit in Jorf Lasfar, 110km southwest of Casablanca.

The grinding centre will have a capacity of around 0.45Mta. Located 5km from the port of Jorf Lasfar, the facility will include a horizontal cement mill, two rotary eight-nozzle bagging machines, automatic truck loading and two bulk loading stations. Storage for raw materials will include 2 x 4000t of clinker, 2200t of limestone, 1200t of gypsum and 800t of fly ash. Cement will be stored in four 1000t silos.

The Italcementi-owned company is taking the step in anticipation of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim and is part of a reorganisation of its Moroccan subsidiaries. "The construction of the Jorf Lasfar grinding centre, which is situated on a 6.4ha site, aims to strengthen our industrial base ," said the group.