Dangote Cement operates the largest coal mining to generate power as alternative to gas since the supply of gas has been plagued with incessant disruptions. Over 50 per cent of power need of the cement plants are generated from coal. The Ibese Plant Director, Amando Martines made a presentation on the Ibese plants, how it was expanded from two lines of 6 million metric tons per annum to four lines and can now produce 12 million metric tons per annum. Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 46Mta capacity across Africa, a fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer with production capacity of 29.25Mta in Nigeria. Its Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta of capacity across four lines. The Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta. The Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta. The company plans to build new factories in Ogun State (3-6Mta) and Edo State (6.0Mta). Our coal mining initiative is benefiting both the company and the Nigerian economy by reducing the need for foreign exchange and helping us to both protect existing jobs and create new ones. According to Dangote Cement CEO, Onne van der Weijde also informed that a more measured approach has been indicated to our expansion across Africa, as new operations is opening soon in Congo and Sierra Leone and these will strengthen the company’s profitability and generate additional foreign currency earnings. Despite the challenges we are facing, we continue to focus on becoming a global force in cement production and many of the company production lines were now capable of running entirely on coal as this will completely eliminate the company’s dependence on gas supplies, imported coal and LPFO.
