Trade Minister urges cement firms to use local raw materials

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• Agbeli Kumordi 6 days ago

  A bag of cement supposed to be 48 cedis by now
  But cement too expensive in Ghana
  How can i rent my house cheap
  The government has to do something about that old bullshit in Ghana

  A bag of cement supposed to be 48 cedis by now
  But cement too expensive in Ghana
  How can i rent my house cheap
  The government has to do something about that old bullshit in Ghana

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• Talk Is Cheap 6 days ago

  Innovation is the key to development it is time Africa use their brain in development

  Innovation is the key to development it is time Africa use their brain in development

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• Ama 6 days ago

  Ban importation if we have enough raw materials in the country and give tax break for those who comply to make price more competitive.

  Ban importation if we have enough raw materials in the country and give tax break for those who comply to make price more competitive.

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• KO 6 days ago

  What local materials are you talking about, minister. You could have given the public examples for the manufacturers to seek to make the cement. Thank you

  What local materials are you talking about, minister. You could have given the public examples for the manufacturers to seek to make the cement. Thank you

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• Iron Cemento 6 days ago

  Ghana does not have commercially suitable or sufficient limestone deposits for large-scale, traditional cement (clinker) production.
  
  While Ghana does have several major limestone deposits across the country, they suffer fr ...
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  Ghana does not have commercially suitable or sufficient limestone deposits for large-scale, traditional cement (clinker) production.
  
  While Ghana does have several major limestone deposits across the country, they suffer from two major flaws that prevent them from being used for traditional cement: high magnesium content (dolomitic limestone) and unfavorable logistics/scale. Because of this, Ghana's cement industry historically relies almost entirely on importing clinker—the limestone-based nodules that serve as the binder in traditional cement.
  
  Ghana actually has hundreds of millions of tonnes of limestone, but the chemical composition and locations present steep hurdles for cement manufacturers.
  
  Buipe (Northern Region) ~6 million tonnes limestone / 138 million tonnes dolomite Too much Magnesium: The vast majority of this reserve is high-magnesium dolomite. If magnesium oxide (MgO) in cement exceeds 5%, it causes the concrete to expand and crack over time.
  Nauli (Western Region) ~23 to 400+ million tonnes Depth and Cost: While chemical purity is better here, many of these beds are heavily interlayered with clay/shale or lie beneath deep overburdens, making large-scale commercial extraction and clinker processing economically unfeasible compared to imports.
  Oterkpolu / Yongwa (Eastern Region) ~3 to 10 million tonnes Too Small & Impure: These deposits are actively quarried, but they are primarily used as "filler" or for aggregate/masonry mortars. They contain too many impurities (silica and clay) for high-purity industrial clinker kilns.
  
  Because local limestone is unsuitable for traditional kilns, Ghana's 15+ cement grinding companies (like Ghacem and CBI Ghana) have traditionally imported clinker from countries like Egypt, Togo, and Europe, exposing the local economy to volatile shipping costs and foreign exchange risks.
  
  How Ghana Sidestepped the Problem: Ghana has actually become a global pioneer in an alternative green cement technology called LC3 (Limestone Calcined Clay Cement).
  Instead of trying to force poor-quality local limestone into traditional high-heat kilns, major manufacturers like CBI Ghana (in partnership with Heidelberg Materials) completed construction on the world’s largest flash clay calcination plant in Tema.
  • The Strategy: They use vast, highly abundant local clay deposits, heat them to around – to create "calcined clay," and blend it with a much smaller percentage of imported clinker and ground local limestone.
  • The Result: This breakthrough allows Ghana to reduce its clinker import dependency significantly, lower cement production costs, and slash the carbon footprint of its cement by up to 40%. Ghana now boasts the world's lowest authorized clinker content standard for cement (just 35%).
  In short, while Ghana lacks the right limestone to make traditional cement from scratch, it has successfully pivoted to using its massive clay reserves to manufacture high-quality, sustainable cement locally.
  
  Madam Minister, what do you have to say on this revelation to Ghanaians about cement production in your country?

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• Ogoglo 6 days ago

  Nice write up.

  Nice write up.

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• jagadu 5 days ago

  Since the 1980s Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of Council in Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed the landcrete blocks where engineered laterite is combined with a percentage of of cement to produ ...
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  Since the 1980s Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of Council in Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed the landcrete blocks where engineered laterite is combined with a percentage of of cement to produce landcrete blocks but was never implemented. The advantage was using a small mixed use of cement in lieu of the current sandcrete blocks that uses an increased amount of cement. Bring it back for implementation. I was at UST and worked on this product so I am very familiar with the product.

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