Connect with us

Economy & Market

Supreme Court reserves order in Lafarge case

Published

on

Shares

The Supreme Court has reserved its order over the contentious issue of resumption of mining operations by French cement giant, Lafarge, in Meghalaya to supply the limestone to its $255-million cement plant in Bangladesh. A special bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice KS Radhakrishnan concluded the hearing in the case. It heard the arguments on behalf of the Centre, the company Lafarge and local residents, Shella Action Committee. The Bench has also given the liberty to all the parties involved in the case to file additional written submissions by Friday. The judgement of the Bench will decide the fate of LUMPL, involved in extraction of limestone in Meghalaya which was used for manufacturing cement at the LSC project in Bangladesh. It is noteworthy to mention that LSC has been fully dependent on the supply of limestone from LUMPL for its operations. The operations by LUMPL and LSC were challenged by an application filed by Shella Action Committee, a registered voluntary agency of tribal people, alleging that Lafarge had obtained environmental clearance by misrepresenting to the Government of India, the land for mining which is 116 acres of thick forest land, to be a ‘wasteland and non-forest area consisting mainly of barren land, and rocks’. The court later restrained LUMPL from continuing limestone mining in the villages – Nongtrai and Shella in Meghalaya and supplying the same to the LSC project at Chhatak, Sunamganj, in Bangladesh. During the course of the hearing in the case, the court questioned Lafarge counsel and former attorney general Soli J Sorabjee. He said that the company was not aware of fact that project site falls within the forest area. To which the apex court firmly replied that the project was in the core of the tropical deciduous forest of that area.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Economy & Market

Hindalco Buys US Speciality Alumina Firm for $125 Million

Published

on

By

Shares

This strategic acquisition marks a significant investment in speciality alumina, a key step by Aditya Birla Group’s metals flagship towards becoming future-ready by scaling its high-value, technology-led materials portfolio.

Hindalco Industries, the world’s largest aluminium company by revenue and the metals flagship of the $28 billion Aditya Birla Group, has announced the acquisition of a 100 per cent equity stake in US-based AluChem Companies—a prominent manufacturer of speciality alumina—for an enterprise value of $125 million. The transaction will be executed through Aditya Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary.

This acquisition represents a pivotal investment in speciality alumina and advances Hindalco’s strategy to expand its high-value, technology-led materials portfolio.

Hindalco’s speciality alumina business, a key pillar of its value-added strategy, has delivered consistent double-digit growth in recent years. It has emerged as a high-growth, high-margin vertical within the company’s portfolio. As speciality alumina finds expanding applications across electric mobility, semiconductors, and precision ceramics, the deal positions Hindalco further up the innovation curve, enabling next-generation alumina solutions and value-accretive growth.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, called the acquisition an important step in their global strategy to build a leadership position in value-added, high-tech materials.

“Our strategic foray into the speciality alumina space will not only accelerate the development of future-ready, sustainable solutions but also open new pathways to pursue high-impact growth opportunities. By integrating advanced technologies into our value chain, we are reinforcing our commitment to self-reliance, import substitution, and building scale in innovation-led businesses.”

Ronald P Zapletal, Founder, AluChem Companies, said the partnership with Hindalco would provide AluChem the ability and capital to scale up faster and build scale in North America.

“AluChem will benefit from their world-class sustainability and safety standards and practices, access to integrated operations and a consistent, reliable raw material supply chain. Their ability to leverage R&D capabilities and a talented workforce adds tremendous value to our innovation pipeline, helping drive market expansion beyond North America.”

An Eye on the Future

The global speciality alumina market is projected to grow significantly, with rising demand for tailored solutions in sectors such as ceramics, electronics, aerospace, and medical applications. Hindalco currently operates 500,000 tonnes of speciality alumina capacity and aims to scale this up to 1 million tonnes by FY2030.

Commenting on the development, Satish Pai, Managing Director, Hindalco Industries, said the deal reinforced their commitment to innovation and global expansion.

“As alumina gains increasing relevance in critical and clean-tech sectors, AluChem’s advanced chemistry capabilities will significantly enhance our ability to serve these fast-evolving markets. Importantly, it deepens our high-value-added portfolio with differentiated products that drive profitability and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

AluChem adds a strong North American presence to Hindalco’s portfolio, with an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes across three advanced manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Arkansas. The company is a long-standing supplier of ultra-low soda calcined and tabular alumina, materials prized for their thermal and mechanical stability and widely used in precision engineering and high-performance refractories.

Saurabh Khedekar, CEO of the Alumina Business at Hindalco Industries, said the acquisition unlocked immediate synergies, including market access and portfolio diversification.

“Hindalco plans to work with AluChem’s high performance technology solutions and scale up production of ultra-low soda alumina products to drive a larger global market share.”

The transaction is expected to close in the upcoming quarter, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

 

Continue Reading

Concrete

Shree Cement reports 2025 financial year results

Published

on

By

Shares

Shree Cement posted revenue of US$2.38 billion for FY2025, marking a 5.5 per cent decline year-on-year. Operating costs rose 2.9 per cent to US$2.17 billion, resulting in an EBITDA of US$528 million—down 12 per cent from the previous year. Net profit fell 50 per cent to US$141 million. The company reported cement sales of 9.84Mt in Q4 FY2025, a 3.3 per cent increase from 9.53Mt in Q4 FY2024, with premium products making up 16 per cent of total sales.

Image source:https://newsmantra.in/

Continue Reading

Concrete

Rekha Onteddu to become director at Sagar Cements

Published

on

By

Shares

Sagar Cements has announced the appointment of Rekha Onteddu as a non-executive independent director, effective 30 June 2025. According to People in Business News, Rekha Onteddu is currently serving in a similar capacity at Andhra Cements, the parent company of Sagar Cements.

Image source:https://sagarcements.in/

Continue Reading

Trending News

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

 

Don't miss out on valuable insights and opportunities to connect with like minded professionals.

 


    This will close in 0 seconds