Clinker imports disrupted by port fire at Puerto Ventanas, Chile

A fire at the facilities of Puerto Ventanas, in the district of Puchincaví, central Chile, has damaged bulk material conveyor belts at the port, used to unload and store clinker for Cemento Melón S.A.

"Today, Melón S.A. personnel have been authorised to access the port and its facilities, and on this occasion we have been able to verify in situ the extent of the damage, which is significant and has the consequence of not being able to supply imported clinker to our grinding plant located in the vicinity of Puerto Ventanas, for a period that is not yet possible to specify, which will significantly affect our production capacity", the company said in a statement to the Financial Market Commission (CMF).

The company stated that it had deployed its contingency plans to ensure supply to its customers, but admitted that it could not yet quantify the full impact of the damage.

Cemento Melón S.A. operates a 0.6Mta grinding plant close to the port, which relies on imported clinker.