# Chromium: Characteristics

The 10.5% threshold that makes steel stainless

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/characteristics/

What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).

#### Supply volume characteristics

| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Current production volume** | about 51 Mt chromite ore gross weight (2025e), 16.8 Mt Cr2O3 content (2024) | South Africa mined 23 Mt, Turkey 9 Mt, Kazakhstan 7 Mt and India 3 Mt of ore in 2025. Mine output rose about 3% in 2025. | USGS MCS 2026; World Mining Data 2026 |
| **Inventory and stock levels** | no exchange stocks; US consumer stocks about 5 kt; US stockpile listed 21.8 kt ferrochromium for potential disposal (FY2025) | Chrome ore stocks at Chinese ports are the main commercial buffer but are not in the sources used. India's OMC sells ore through monthly e-auctions, averaging 64,750 t a month in FY2025. | USGS MCS 2026; BigMint via content_v2 |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published globally | South African ferrochrome smelters have run well below capacity because of high Eskom power prices and unreliable supply, while Chinese smelters use imported ore (indicative). India's IMFA has 190 MVA of furnaces for about 284,000 t a year of ferrochrome. | USGS MCS 2026; IMFA (May 2025); South African utilisation indicative |
| **Geographic and producer concentration** | South Africa 54.8%, top-3 75.9% (South Africa, Kazakhstan, India), HHI 3,340 (2024) | South Africa supplied 81.2% of ore export value and 47.7% of ferrochrome exports in 2024. Glencore-Merafe, Samancor, ERG (Kazchrome) and Outokumpu are the main alloy producers; Glencore's attributable ferrochrome was 436 kt in 2025. | World Mining Data 2026; UN Comtrade 2024; Glencore via content_v2 |
| **Supply elasticity** | medium: by-product chrome from South African platinum (UG2) mines responds within months; new deep mines take 5-10 years (indicative) | UG2 chromite recovered at platinum operations adds supply when chrome prices rise, without new mining. Ferrochrome output responds quickly to power prices because smelters can idle furnaces. | indicative; USGS MCS 2026 notes deep-level mining and power constraints |
| **Project pipeline and CapEx** | expansions expected in Brazil, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe | USGS expects investment, major expansions and new mines in Brazil, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe. In India, IMFA plans a 100,000 t a year ferrochrome expansion at Kalinganagar due in Q2 FY2027. | USGS MCS 2026; IMFA via content_v2 |
| **Logistics and export flows** | ore exports $5.8 billion and ferrochrome exports $7.9 billion (2024); China took 85.3% of ore and 50.5% of ferrochrome imports | South African ore is railed to Richards Bay, Durban and Maputo (Mozambique) for shipment to China. Potential South African export controls or taxes on chromite are a risk flagged by USGS. | UN Comtrade 2024 (HS 2610, 720241); USGS MCS 2026; port names indicative |

#### Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity

Chromium is valued because at 10.5% or more in steel it forms a thin, self-healing oxide film that makes stainless steel. It is traded as chromite ore, priced on Cr2O3 content and the chromium to iron ratio, and as ferrochrome, priced on chromium content and carbon. Hard chrome plating and refractory uses depend on its hardness and high melting point.

| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Ore grade (Cr2O3)** | metallurgical ore and concentrate typically 40-48% Cr2O3; India's lumpy ore and concentrate 40-52% | Grade sets furnace power and coke use per tonne of alloy and therefore price | BigMint via content_v2; industry grades (indicative) |
| **Cr:Fe ratio** | South African UG2 and LG6 ore about 1.3-1.6; high-ratio ores above 2.8 (Kazakhstan, India, Turkey; indicative) | Low ratio ore makes 'charge chrome' of 50-55% Cr; high ratio ore makes high-grade ferrochrome of 60-70% Cr | industry practice (indicative) |
| **High-carbon ferrochrome** | ASTM A101 grades about 60-70% Cr, 4-8% C; charge chrome 50-55% Cr | The feed for stainless steel melting; carbon and silicon limits set how much AOD refining is needed | ASTM A101; industry grades (indicative) |
| **Corrosion resistance** | stainless needs at least 10.5% Cr (EN 10088); grade 304 has 18-20% Cr | Chromium has no substitute in stainless, its main end use (74% of EU use) | EN 10088-1; USGS MCS 2026; EU CRM 2023 |
| **Hardness** | hard chrome plating about 800-1,000 HV (indicative) | Used for wear-resistant plated surfaces on shafts, hydraulics and moulds | ASM Handbook (indicative) |
| **Melting point and refractoriness** | chromium metal melts at 1,907 C; chromite refractories withstand furnace temperatures | Chromite sand and bricks line furnaces and foundry moulds (about 4% of EU use) | CRC Handbook; EU CRM 2023 |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/criticality/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/links/index.md)