Penden Cement gear box failure sees output falter

Cement production at Penden Cement Authority Ltd (PCAL) in Gomtu, Samtse, Bhutan, was affected last month as a gearbox in one of the two coal mills broke down.

The gearbox failed on 21 April. While in-house repairs were carried out, enabling the plant to resume operations after four days, further issues occurred on 16 May and to date PCAL has been unable to repair the gearbox. The plant’s management is currently looking for a second-hand gear box as a new gearbox takes a minimum of six months to custom-make and install. “We have to have a customised gearbox that fits in the plant,” Kaylzang Tshering said adding that it was difficult to get a second-hand gearbox. The gearbox, meanwhile, is more than 20 years old.

In June the main drive gear on the other coal mill also experienced similar issues and while cement production continued using imported clinker for most of the time, the plant was shut down completely between 26-30 June.

PCAL Chief Executive Officer, Kaylzang Tshering, said that coal mill 2 remains out of operation with the gearbox broken. “But it doesn’t mean everything stops,” the CEO said. “But production quantity will drop since we are unable to operate in full capacity.”

When both coal mills function, the plant produces 900-1000tpd of clinker. With only one coal mill functional, the works produces 250tpd, said Mr Tshering.

PCAL can produce around 1600tpd, depending on the demand. In June the company dispatched 12,135t of cement, a considerable decrease when compared with 30,243t dispatched in June 2016. In the first half of 2016, PCAL’s total dispatches reached 205,826t of cement, but in 1H2017, this volume had fallen to 179,524t.

Meanwhile, the company has imported clinker from India at a current price of BTN4400/t (US$67.98/t), up from BTN3400/t paid last year. However, towards the end of June PCAL was unable to purchase clinker from its usual source as Indian suppliers were unsure how the newly-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) would impact their operations. PCAL currently continues to produce cement from the last 5000t shipment, but sources indicate this supply is now exhausted.