More than 100 residents arrived at the Xenia Township trustee’s office to voice their concerns with Cemex. The company asked city leaders to rezone nearly 290 acres of land for mining purposes for its Fairborn works in Ohio.

Residents who live near the land Cemex wants are concerned with how the new operations will affect their property values and water wells. There are also concerns with the potential increase in noise levels and traffic flow.

"When Cemex bought the land it was zoned, agriculture. If they wanted to mine on it, they should have bought land that was zoned for mining," said Pete Waltz, an area resident.

According to Cemex representatives, the company works diligently and responsibly to manage lands within and around their operations to protect biodiversity and promote nature conservation. The company also stressed the importance of cement to the state of Ohio and the rest of the country.

"The minerals we will be able to extract from this new land will be used to produce cement for our roads in Ohio, schools and hospitals. Cement is a building block for the U.S economy and the state of Ohio," said Sara Engdahl, Cemex Director of Communication.

The public meeting was postponed on Thursday due to an unexpected amount of people. The building was well over max capacity.