Lafarge warns of output cut

Harare (New Ziana) –Listed cement manufacturer, Lafarge has warned of possible constrained performance for the remainder of the year following a major incident at its plant early this week.
In a cautionary statement, Lafarge said a roof had collapsed over one of the mills.
“The directors of Lafarge cement Zimbabwe limited wish to advise the company’s shareholders and members of the public that on Monday 11 October 2021, at approximately 1700hrs local time, a critical on site incident occurred involving the collapse of the roof over one of the company’s cement mills,” the company said.
“Although there were no fatalities or injuries, this incident may have an impact on the company’s business performance for the remaining quarter of 2021.”
Lafarge said necessary measures to restore the structures and restart the mills had commenced.
The company, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, recently commissioned a new dry mortar plant as part of its $25million three-phase expansion program.
The new dry mortar mix plant, which increased production capacity from 7 000 tonnes to 100 000 tonnes annually, was procured from Turkey and is currently the largest of its kind in Southern Africa.
The plant is also the first of its kind to be installed in any LafargeHolcim operation in Africa.
“The launch is the first phase of the company’s expansion project, with the second phase set to be done next January with the commissioning of a vertical cement mixer plant,” Lafarge said at the commissioning in April.
New Ziana