whiter. Initially, the Goller Creek plantwill be producing 200,000 tonnes/yand this will be expanded to 350,000tonnes/y in 2008/09 and then to 1 Mtonnes/y by 2018, if warranted bymarket demand.

Industrial Minerals, May 2008, 15

China, Indonesia & Thailand: Clariant– plastic masterbatch

Clariant is steadily increasing itscapacity for making plasticmasterbatches in China andSoutheast Asia. The company nowhas three masterbatch plants in China– at Beijing (with a capacity of 1000tonnes/y and 40 employees); atShanghai (3500 tonnes/y and 100employees); and at Guangzhou (3000tonnes/y and 70 employees). Aproject due for completion later thisyear will raise capacity at Guangzhouby 10%. Meanwhile, a three-layerblow-moulding machine was installedat the Shanghai plant towards the endof 2007 with the aim of developingnew colour effects for plastic bottles.Clariant also operates a 5000tonnes/y plant at Taoyuan (Taiwan).

Clariant’s new masterbatch plant atChon Buri (Thailand) commencedproduction in 3Q 2007. The company’sproject to raise masterbatch capacity atTangerang (Indonesia) was completedin January 2008.

Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 26 May 2008, (424), 9(Website: http://www.france-chimie.com) (in French)& Plastics News, 12 May 2008 (Website:http://www.plasticsnews.com)

China: Cabot/Bluestar – fumed silica

Cabot Corp signed a joint ventureagreement with the China NationalBluestar group on 16 May for theestablishment of a 7000 tonnes/yfumed silica plant at Tianjin, whichshould be ready for operation by early2010. The project will cost $40 M. Noindication has been given of therespective financial shares in the jointventure.

Cabot and Bluestar already have a4800 tonnes/y fumed silica plant inoperation at Jiujang-Xinghuo (Jiangxiprovince). This plant came on-streamin mid-2006 and it cost $30 M to build,of which 90% was contributed byCabot and 10% by Bluestar.

Press Release from: Cabot Corp, 2 Seaport Lane, Suite1300, Boston, MA 02210 2019, USA (16 May 2008)

China: Jindian Mining – zinc oxide

Jindian Mining Co Ltd plans to spendRMB Yuan 20 M to build a new zincoxide plant in Wengyuan County(Guangdong province). The plant willbe capable of producing 23,000tonnes/y of zinc oxide, of which 5000tonnes/y as nanoparticulate ZnO. Itwill employ about 100 people. Anenvironmental impact report wassubmitted with the project application,indicating that appropriate measureswill be put in place to deal with thesulfur oxide and sulfuric acid mistemissions.

China Chemical Reporter, 26 Mar 2008, 19 (9), 15

China: Schlenk – aluminium pigments

The Schlenk group has opened a newaluminium pigments plant at Taixing,following a three-year constructionprogramme. The plant incorporatesthe same process and product qualitystandards that apply at its plants inRoth-Barmsdorf and Bitterfeld(Germany) and Ashland, MA (UnitedStates). The parent company wasfounded by Mr Carl Schlenk in 1879and it changed its official name toSchlenk Metallic Pigments GmbH lastNovember.

Paint & Coatings Industry (PCI), May 2008, 24 (5), 22

China: Sichuan Lomon – TiO2

The massive earthquake that hitSichuan provinces on 12 May 2008,followed by a number of strongaftershocks, severely damagedseveral chemical facilities and causedmajor disruptions to the transportationof chemicals and raw materials. At anearly stage, the Central Government’sState Administration of Work Safetyordered all chemical plants, powergenerating facilities and coal minesnear the epicentre to stop production inorder to prevent additional casualtiesand to facilitate emergency rescue andrelief efforts. Sichuan Lomon dulyclosed its 80,000 tonnes/y TiO2pigment plant at Mianzhu (DeyangCounty, near the city of Chengdu). It isinteresting to note that ‘ICIS-CBN’reports the plant location as Chengdu,whereas ‘JCW’ refers to the moreprecise location – Mianzhu.

Only a few weeks before theearthquake, Sichuan Lomon haddeclared its intention to expand its

TiO2 capacity to 200,000 tonnes/ynext year, with plans to raise itsexports to 70,000-80,000 tonnes/y.‘JCW‘ noted that the existing plantconsisted of two 40,000 tonnesproduction lines and that theexpansion designed by SichuanLomon’s own engineers would entailthe installation of two 60,000 tonnes/yproduction lines. In the next stage ofthe company’s programme, TiO2pigment capacity was to be boostedto 500,000 tonnes/y by 2015. It is tooearly to assess whether theearthquake-related damage will resultin serious delays to this programme.

ICIS Chemical Business, 28 Apr 2008 & 19 May 2008,(Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com) & JapanChemical Week, 17 Apr 2008, 49 (2462), 10

Czech Republic: Lasselsberger - kaolin

The Lasselsberger group(headquartered at Poechlarn,Niederösterreich) joined the ranks ofEurope’s kaolin producers in the late1990s with the acquisition of controllinginterests in Chlumcanske KeramickeZavody (CHKZ) and Keramika HorniBriza (KHB), both in the CzechRepublic. Lasselberger’s production ofkaolin last year reached 500,000tonnes, of which 35% was paper-grade,34% was fibreglass-grade and 22%was ceramics-grade. The other 9% wasaccounted for by other grades. Thecompany currently operates threekaolin mines in the Plzen region – atKaznejov, Horni Briza and Chlumcany.

As well as kaolin, Lasselsbergerproduces several other mineralproducts for the ceramics sector,notably 400,000 tonnes/y of ball claysand 200,000 tonnes/y of feldspar. Asignificant proportion of its mineraloutput is consumed captively.

Lasselsberger is one of the world’stop four ceramic tile manufacturers,with 55 production lines at 12 differentsites in the Czech Republic, Hungary,Romania and Slovakia. It reported tileproduction at 58 M sq m for full-year2007.

Industrial Minerals, Mar 2008, (486), 69-71

France & Thailand: Toyo Ink –colorants for inks & plastics

Toyo Ink is poised to bring on-streamthree new plants as part of itsbusiness growth plan. At Villiers StPaul (France), Toyo Ink is

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