Castle Cement buy British coal

CASTLE Cement have agreed terms with RJB Mining for the supply of 300,000 tonnes of high-quality deep-mined coal from Maltby Colliery, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, in a contract worth 'several million pounds' over the next two years.

Choosing RJB in preference to suppliers in Venezuela and Colombia, Castle Cement say the coal will be transported mainly by rail from Maltby to their Ribblesdale cement works at Clitheroe in Lancashire.

Commenting on the deal, Castle Cement's production director, Peter Weller, said: 'As the suppliers of around 25% of the British demand for cement, we are delighted that we have been able to buy our coal in Britain. RJB Mining can supply the quality and quantity we require at a competitive price, and the fact that it can be delivered by rail is compatible with our environment-friendly policy.'

Ken Le Geyt, RJB Mining's director of industrial and domestic sales, added: 'We are particularly pleased at having secured this order at a time when international coal prices, which have been at a 25-year low, are showing distinct signs of rising. The contract ensures security of supply at prices free of exchange rate fluctuations and the volatilities of world markets.'

Castle Cement, the UK arm of Heidelberger Zement, the world's third largest cement company, have a manufacturing capacity of 3.3 million tonnes a year and are currently investing £55 million in modernizing their plants to achieve higher environmental standards and more cost-effective production.