The French-owned company confirmed Wednesday it had filed a new request for an environmental permit, though it would not comment on the details of its filing.

The Environment Agency (ARSO) said Lafarge had made the filing at the end of April.

The news comes less than two months after Lafarge suspended cement production in Trbovlje on orders of environmental inspectors.

The Administrative Court revoked the environmental permits issued to the plant and other decisions regarding the plant in August last year.

In spite of this, Lafarge continued operations until March, citing provisions in the environmental protection act which state that it is allowed to continue operating until a final decision on its request is made.

While it remains unclear what Lafarge's plans are, unofficial information obtained by Delo suggests it has abandoned plans to incinerate waste in cement furnaces.

Instead, it is believed it applied for a permit to produce 1,250 tonnes of cement clinker daily burning petroleum coke.

However, Uroš Macerl, the head of the environmentalist group Eko krog, which has been fighting Lafarge over its emissions for years, said that would not be acceptable.