CalidraArgentina

completed

Grupo Calidra S.A. de C.V. (Calidra or “the company”); Mexico’s leading producer of lime, construction hydrated lime, quicklime, dolomitic lime, chemical hydrated lime, and calcium carbonate products; with operations across Mexico and one in Honduras has been previously financed by IFC. The ESRS for the previous investments are available at:- Project# 21820: Calidra S.A. de CV: ifcext.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/ProjectDisplay/ERS21820- Project# 26671: ifcext.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/ProjectDisplay/ESRS26671 - Project# 31587: Calidra International: ifcext.ifc.org/IFCExt/spiwebsite1.nsf/651aeb16abd09c1f8525797d006976ba/ffeb4edaf79886f385257a5d0066c560?OpenDocumentThe company has, to this date, successfully implemented the Environmental and Social Action Plans (ESAP) for these investments and has developed sound E&S management system and organizational capacity. IFC is considering US$32 million debt financing to Calidra, to support its plan to enter the Argentine market by forming a joint venture with CEFAS S.A. (Cefas), an important player in lime production in Argentina and subsequent investments for capacity expansion and operational improvements. The capital expenses related to the project will be realized at several of the existing production facilities of CEFAS S.A.Cefas currently has its operational facilities at four locations: (a) Quilpo (Province of Córdoba), (b) Padre Bueno and Decavo plants (Province of San Juan), (c) Olavarria (Province of Buenos Aires), and (d) Zapala (Province of Neuquén.) In addition it has four distribution centers in Argentina (Campana, Resistencia, Cordoba and Rosario) and one located in Quilicura, at approximately 17 km from Santiago downtown in Chile.As part of the capital expenditure (capex) for the proposed project, Calidra expects to: (a) shut down the Quilpo facility in approximately 24 months; once it recovers the approximate 12,300 tons of hydration rejected material that this plant has been generating and accumulating on-premises for long time; (b) install a new 400-tons natural gas/pet coke Maerz kiln at the Padre Bueno plant; (c) dismantled the Decavo plant; and (d) optimize the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) management of the quarries, production plants as well as those of the distribution centers.Cefas manufactures four main products: a) quick and hydrated lime (several qualities), b) aggregates, produced at a plant and quarry complex in the province of Buenos Aires and sold through the distribution center in the same province; c) mortar, produced at a plant in the province of Buenos Aires and sold through a distribution center in the same province; and d) gypsum and clay, produced in the Zapala plant. The Olavarria products are either commercialized directly or through the Campana and Rosario distribution centers. The Zapala products are either commercialized directly or are exported to the Chile distribution center.Quilpo. This plant, located at approximately 20 km to the south of the city of Cruz del Eje, in the Province of Cordoba, produces hydrated lime. It has 4 vertical kilns with a 50 tons per day (tpd) capacity each and two hydrators. Two of the kilns operate with certified wood and the other two with pet coke. One of the hydrators has a capacity of 12 tph (tons per hour) and a much smaller hydrator with a capacity of 4 tph is operated in as needed basis depending on the market demand. The process includes (a) perforation, blasting, crushing, and screening during the extraction of the limestone; (b) calcination, crushing, grinding, hydration, during the production of the hydrated lime; and (c) packaging. There is a community of approximately 200 people living in close proximity to the plant. Padre Bueno. This facility is located in the municipality of Cienaguita in the San Juan Province at approximately 130 km from Mendoza and 90 km from San Juan. It comprises of Padre Bueno and Decavo plants, which are about 8 km afar. The area comprising both plants is Cefas property.The operations at the Padre Bueno plant include (a) perforation, blasting, crushing, and screening during the extraction of the limestone; (b) calcination, crushing, grinding, hydration, during the production of the hydrated lime; and (c) packaging. This plant has two mixed-fuel vertical kilns and a hydrator. The 50 tpd vertical kilns operate with either pet coke or gas and the 500 tpd Maerz kiln operates with either gas or pet coke. The, approximately 400 people, Cienaguita community is located three kilometers to the South of the plant; the Divisadero community comprised of approximately 400 people is located 5 km from the plant; and the Pedernal and Berros communities are located at approximately 10 km and 15 km respectively from the plant. The Decavo plant is located at approximately 4 km from the Berros municipality and it is being out of operation for about 6 years. The Decavo plant will be dismantled as part of this project and its corresponding dismantlement plan including the EHS impacts and mitigations will be submitted to IFC as indicated in the ESAP. Olavarria. This plant, located in Olavarria in the Province of Buenos Aires, produces hydrated lime. It has six vertical kilns, each with a 40tpd capacity, which use pet coke as fuel and a hydrator. It extracts its lime rock from the company-owned Don Antonio quarry located at approximately 18 km from the Olavarria community and close to the plant. The process includes crushing, hydration, grinding, and packaging. This is the only plant that has an automatic palletizer. The closest communities, Sierras Bayas and Villa Fortabat with approximately 4000 people each, are located approximately 8 km from the plant. Zapala. This plant, located in Zapala, Province of Neuquen, produces 1,800 ton/month of gypsum for agricultural use. It extracts the dolomite from its own 52-ha quarry which is located 30 km away from the plant in the city of Covunco. As the quarry operation is subcontracted, it does not have explosives storage on premises. The operation includes grinding; drying, for which it uses a natural gas 5-ton rotary kiln; and manual packaging. The plant is located in the periphery of the Zapala community which has a population of approximately 43,000 people.Distribution Centers. The four distribution centers are located in industrial zones. The Rosario distribution center has a 1,000 m2 warehouse capacity. The Resistencia distribution center has two 600 m2 warehouses located within a 14,200 m2 site. The Campana distribution center has an area of 500 m2; it receives bagged product and delivers it by truck, for which it has four 10 tons loaders. This distribution center, recycles the packaging products bags. The Cordoba distribution center has a 900 m2 warehouse. The Chile distribution center has a 3,200 m2 warehouse in a 5,000 m2 site.