Guangxi Hezhou develops the calcium carbonate industry for stone materials, with an output value exceeding 35 billion yuan last year.

Marble waste has found a new destination (Economic Focus)

Reporter: Deng Jiansheng, Zhu Jiaqi, "People's Daily" (September 25, 2023, Page 15)

Core Reading

From being ignored to becoming an industrial "treasure trove", from mining and producing stone materials to forming a complete industrial chain covering upstream and downstream, in recent years, Hezhou, Guangxi has taken multiple measures to promote the calcium carbonate industry for stone materials to grow stronger. Data shows that in 2022, the output value of Hezhou's calcium carbonate industry exceeded 35 billion yuan, providing over 40,000 jobs locally.

The waste stones and materials left after producing marble have been innovatively repurposed; with the help of supply chain platforms, industry enterprises have gathered to develop and streamline the chain... "In 2022, the output value of Hezhou's calcium carbonate industry exceeded 35 billion yuan, providing over 40,000 jobs locally," said Li Jieyun, Secretary of the Hezhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. "Making good use of these 'wastes' that used to cost money to dispose of has become an important lever for us to explore transformation and development."

Why has waste stone and materials found a new destination? How can they be utilized effectively? The reporter conducted interviews.

Multiple uses from one stone, waste materials become a "treasure trove"

Hezhou City is rich in marble resources, with proven marble reserves of 2.6 billion cubic meters, making it the largest white marble resource area in South China. The local stone industry began in the 1970s, and by the 1990s, "Hezhou White" marble slabs had already gained fame in the Guangdong stone market.

In 2000, in just two villages, Dongshui and Xiapai in Pinggui District, there were 29 quarries and 134 marble processing factories of various sizes. Many enterprises piled up discarded waste materials during the mining and processing, leading to increasingly serious environmental issues.

"So-called waste is actually resources placed in the wrong location," said Lu Yuanhong, Deputy General Manager of Hezhou Ke Long Powder Co., Ltd. "More than a decade ago, to dispose of these waste materials, marble slab factories would pay us 5 yuan per ton to take them away. But now, even the waste from the most remote quarries sells for about 120 yuan per ton."

Why have waste materials become a resource that enterprises compete to purchase?

It turns out that calcium carbonate is an important non-metallic mineral raw material in industrial production, widely used in artificial stone, rubber, plastics, paper, coatings, inks, building materials, and daily chemicals. The structure of Hezhou marble is mainly medium to coarse crystalline, with a whiteness of 95% and a calcium carbonate content exceeding 90%. As the local calcium carbonate industry for stone materials gradually develops and grows, the previously ignored marble waste materials have become an important "treasure trove."

More and more companies are joining the ranks of waste recycling. Established in 2014, Hezhou Hongchang Marble Mine Waste Comprehensive Treatment Co., Ltd. focuses on the recovery, processing, cleaning, screening, production, and sales of marble mine waste, recovering about 5 million tons of waste annually. Last year, the company's output value reached 48 million yuan, with tax payments of 5.67 million yuan.

According to statistics, from January to August this year, 16 marble mines in Pinggui District transported 7.64 million tons of marble waste. After grading treatment, large stone materials are sent to powder factories in the park for processing into powder, while crushed stones and sands are sent to construction sites as raw materials; the soil components in the calcium carbonate solid waste treatment are also effectively controlled, with some sent to brick factories as raw materials and others returned to the mines for greening purposes, truly achieving multiple uses from one stone.

Transformation and upgrading, forming a complete industrial chain

Kiln roasting, ground drying, outdoor crushing... Previously, the local calcium carbonate industry for stone materials developed in a rough manner for a long time, with some enterprises having outdated equipment and processes, resulting in large emissions of wastewater and dust, causing significant environmental damage, yet the output value was not high. "The old ways are like picking sesame seeds and losing watermelons; they are ultimately unsustainable," said Tang Guohui, head of the Energy Division of the Pinggui District Economic and Trade Bureau, to the reporter, noting that technological innovation has expanded the space for sustainable development and transformation of the calcium carbonate industry.

"Our customers mainly come from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta region, and currently, there is a high demand for high-end calcium carbonate powder," said Liao Hongxin, head of Guangxi Huarui New Materials Co., Ltd. "In the past, the products of calcium carbonate powder enterprises were seriously homogeneous and had low added value. Now, to develop in this industry, it is essential to thoroughly research the high-end calcium carbonate field."

The technical threshold for high-end calcium carbonate powder is relatively high. During the production process, how to proportion the modified formula? How and when to add dispersants? These all require careful consideration. Therefore, many calcium carbonate powder enterprises in Hezhou have established strategic partnerships with universities and research institutes to conduct research and development on high-end products in the industrial chain.

It is reported that calcium carbonate products, except for artificial granite, are not standard products; their whiteness, powder particle specifications, and masterbatch formulas all need to be "customized" according to the needs of downstream enterprises. Now, local enterprises have the capability to customize production for downstream enterprises.

"Calcium carbonate can also be applied in the field of biodegradable plastics, allowing biodegradable plastics to decompose quickly in the natural environment, helping to reduce white pollution," said Zhong Guojian, technical manager of Guangxi Yunhe New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. In recent years, China has strengthened plastic pollution control, and the new biodegradable materials industry using calcium carbonate as a modified filler has emerged. As Hezhou has abundant calcium carbonate resources, it is very suitable for developing the biodegradable new materials industry.

Relying on rich resources and an increasingly growing industrial cluster, more and more enterprises related to the calcium carbonate industry for stone materials are taking root and growing in Hezhou, forming a complete industrial chain of "mining - natural slab and craft production - waste recovery - calcium carbonate powder - artificial granite - new materials (masterbatch, biodegradable new materials, coatings, etc.) - comprehensive recycling and reuse of solid waste." Hezhou has become an important production base for high-quality calcium carbonate powder and artificial granite.

Integrating resources, integrating into the national supply chain

In 2022, the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Hezhou's High-end Stone Calcium Carbonate Industry" was issued. According to the plan, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Hezhou will focus on laying out 11 sub-sector industrial chains, with a focus on developing masterbatch, plastics (biodegradable new materials), environmentally friendly coatings (inks), food and medicine, and comprehensive utilization of solid waste as downstream application industries. From January to July this year, Hezhou has coordinated the promotion of 42 major projects in the calcium carbonate industry, with a total investment of 44.376 billion yuan.

"The key to making the calcium carbonate industry in Hezhou stronger is to deeply integrate into the national supply chain," said Li Jieyun.

In 2019, Hezhou introduced leading supply chain enterprises, integrated various resources, and created an online and offline calcium carbonate supply chain trading platform. "The platform has downstream enterprises connected in many places, which can send us customized parameters based on the needs of downstream enterprises. We only need to sell customized products to the platform, while logistics support and connecting with downstream enterprises are handled by the platform," Lu Yuanhong told reporters. Cologne Powder is also a long-time user of the supply chain trading platform, "For us, it not only increases sales channels but also reduces costs significantly."

Currently, the calcium carbonate industry chain in Hezhou has extended to downstream industries such as ceramics in Guangdong, papermaking in Shandong, and rubber in Hebei, forming a unified market network with the supply chain platform as a link. "On the online trading platform, upstream and downstream enterprises can inquire about prices and conduct bulk procurement as needed, with personalized product demands ranging from a few kilograms to dozens of tons being successfully matched in a short time, achieving efficient integration of industry chain resources," introduced Tang Guohui.

Through embedded industrial supply chain services, Hezhou's calcium carbonate industry has expanded from a single production activity to an industrial supply chain system that includes production, logistics, trade, and downstream processing and manufacturing. In 2022, Pinggui District alone completed an online transaction volume of 4.5 billion yuan, and this year it is expected to exceed 9 billion yuan. In 2022, the total industrial output value of the calcium carbonate industry in the city reached 20.571 billion yuan, accounting for 22.3% of the city's total industrial output.