Will We Run Out Of Cement?

Op-Ed by Rene Doubleday

Will closing CEMEX negatively impact cement availability?

CEMEX has submitted an application for an additional 15 years of mining at their Dowe Flats Mine near the Town of Lyons. By shutting down the mine, there are clear and direct implications to the CEMEX cement plant on the south side of Highway 66 that would begin the process of shutting down operations, demolishing the plant, and reclaiming that land. There has been a narrative floating around that we need the plant, and there would be a shortage of cement on the Front Range without it. That simply isn’t true.

So how do we know closing CEMEX’s plant won’t have negative impacts on the availability of cement in our community?

Colorado Is a Net Exporter of Cement

Colorado actually produces a surplus of cement, and is a NET EXPORTER. Research shows that Colorado ships out about 10% of our state's total production, and the CEMEX Lyons plant is a small operator (permitted with 1960s air quality standards) that only produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% of our state's cement, so it's a bit of a wash. Further evidence to this is the fact that the Dowe Flats mine has only operated for 4 days per week for the majority of its 25 year permit; that leaves roughly 10 years of opportunity to mine unused. During the recent Boulder County Planning Commission hearings, CEMEX intimated that they only mine enough to meet demand [because of limited storage capabilities at the plant], which just tells you that there isn’t that much demand.

Colorado Investments in Cleaner/Greener Cement

Colorado is also home to cement plant in Florence, near Pueblo, that is installing state-of-the-art technology that will virtually eliminate their carbon footprint entirely. CEMEX’s competitor, LafargeHolcim, received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to research and develop a system to capture and sequester the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions and is using it at their Florence plant. (Source) 

Even a plant that's 20 years old produces about 50% less emissions than a 50-year old plant like CEMEX Lyons. CEMEX Lyons is Boulder County’s #1 polluter emitting over 357,000 tons of CO2 every year. For context, our County’s #2 polluter, the University of Colorado Power Plant, only emits 55,000 tons of CO2 per year (Source: EPA). I think we could only be so lucky as to shift cement production to one of Colorado's other two cement production facilities.

Community Demand Will Be Met Without CEMEX Lyons

Lastly, CEMEX produces cement which is an ingredient of concrete. Cement is shipped to batch plants to mix into concrete. There is a misconception that by CEMEX being proximal, the citizens of Boulder County and surrounding areas have more access to concrete for building purposes. That is not true. Cement is very cost effectively and efficiently delivered by rail to cement terminals. Concrete is mobilized through batch plants located across the state. 13 states in the US don't have any cement production and get cement with ease, and without paying exorbitant rates.

I recommend that CEMEX’s application be REJECTED, and a NEW proposal is negotiated with the Town of Lyons at the table. 15 years is way too long.