MIAMI, United States.- The Cuban state company Minera de Occidente will supply calcium carbonate and other mineral products to companies in Spain and Brazil, the EFE news agency reported on Wednesday.
The announcement was made by the state company itself, the largest producer of calcium carbonate in the country, before the international media accredited on the island.
According to EFE, Minera de Occidente also said that it is negotiating more agreements with companies from the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
“We have quality, because the mineral has an extreme quality. In addition, we have high productivity and low cost. What we have is to improve the presentation and conquer the market. We are in that process now,” explained EFE Rolando Tápanes, head of the Coco Peredo mine and plant.
The expansion of the Minera de Occidente company is inserted, the Cuban government has said, within the import substitution plans, in the midst of a serious economic crisis, which includes problems of access to foreign exchange and great foreign dependence.
The Minera de Occidente agreements
Likewise, the EFE note reads, next July the agreement begins with the Cuban-Spanish joint venture Winperas, in which the Spanish company Winkler Panamericana (Winpan) participates, in which Minera de Occidente undertook to deliver 400 tons of carbonate monthly calcium for three years.
The calcium carbonate will be marketed by Winperas in Cuba, which until now was selling this same component in the country, but made in Spain.
According to Tápanes, this import substitution would mean “four million dollars in savings” for Cuba per year.
For its part, the agreement signed with the Brazilian company involves the production of 4,000 tons of zeolites per year.
the cuban plant
The Coco Peredo plant accumulates a state investment of four million Cuban pesos (CUP), and has an installed production capacity of 30,000 tons per year of retail products and 60,000 tons of larger diameter products.
The factory extends next to the open-pit mine of the same name, about 50 kilometers from Havana and the Mariel special development zone, where its main clients are based.
“Investments allow us to enter the international market,” said Tápanes, who indicated that Minera de Occidente aspires to expand its export portfolio.
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with multiple industrial applications, from the production of cement and glass to the manufacture of hygiene and cleaning products, paints, ceramics and rubber.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +1 (786) 316-2072, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
