# Chromium: Extraction

The Bushveld and Great Dyke: chromium's giant rock layers

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

The Bushveld and Great Dyke: chromium's giant rock layers What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.

Chromium comes almost entirely from the mineral chromite. The biggest deposits are layered igneous intrusions such as South Africa's Bushveld Complex and Zimbabwe's Great Dyke; Kazakhstan, Turkey and Albania mine other types. South African mining is increasingly deep underground (USGS). Ore is crushed and concentrated, then smelted with coke in electric furnaces to make ferrochromium, a power-hungry step. In the Bushveld, chromite occurs alongside platinum-group metals, and an estimated 15% of chromium supply is recovered as a by-product.

Chromium comes almost entirely from chromite, an oxide of chromium and iron. Large layered deposits in South Africa and Zimbabwe and podiform deposits in Kazakhstan, Turkey and India's Odisha hold about 95% of resources (USGS). Ore is mined by open pit or underground, upgraded, then smelted with coke in electric furnaces into ferrochrome, the form steelmakers buy. Electricity is the largest cost after ore, so power prices decide who smelts. A small share of ore goes directly to chemicals, foundry sand and refractories, and a little is refined into chromium metal for superalloys.

#### Methods compared

| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Underground and open-pit mining of layered (Bushveld-type) chromite** | South Africa mined about 23 Mt in 2025, 45% of world output (USGS) | Glencore attributable chrome ore 3.6 Mt in 2025 (Glencore); Glencore-Merafe venture attributable to Merafe 932,000 t (Merafe) | n/a | platinum-group metals from UG2 ore (Merafe attributable PGM concentrate 15,000 oz in 2025) | n/a |
| **Open-pit and underground mining of podiform chromite (Kazakhstan, Turkey, India)** | Kazakhstan about 7 Mt, Turkey 9 Mt and India 3 Mt in 2025 (USGS) | India FY2025: OMC 1.35 Mt, IMFA 0.71 Mt, Tata Steel 0.58 Mt, FACOR 0.18 Mt (BigMint) | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| **Submerged-arc furnace smelting to high-carbon ferrochrome (charge chrome)** | Main route for stainless steel units | IMFA 260,190 t in FY2025 from 190 MVA with 204.5 MW captive power (IMFA); India total 1.35 Mt in FY2025 (BigMint) | n/a | slag used as aggregate; furnace off-gas used for energy | Electricity is the main cost driver; South African smelters cite high Eskom tariffs. Ferrochrome sells for about five times the value of chrome ore (Engineering News, Jan 2026). No sourced cost per tonne. |
| **Chromium metal, chemicals and stainless scrap recycling** | Recycling: 21% of US apparent consumption in 2025 (USGS); EU end-of-life recycling input rate 21% (EU CRM 2023) | n/a | n/a | n/a | US chromium metal averaged $5.90/lb in 2025 against $1.60/lb Cr for ferrochrome (USGS, Argus) |

#### How each method works
**Underground and open-pit mining of layered (Bushveld-type) chromite**

Thin, continuous chromitite seams are mined underground or from shallow open pits, then crushed and passed through spirals to make concentrate. In South Africa many mines also recover platinum-group metals from the UG2 reef. Low-grade fine concentrate suits pelletising and Chinese smelters.

Very large reserves (350 Mt of ore in South Africa, USGS); deep mining, labour and power costs are rising, and illegal mining is about 10% of exports (Engineering News, Jan 2026).
 USGS MCS 2026; Glencore FY2025 production report; Engineering News (20 Jan 2026) **Open-pit and underground mining of podiform chromite (Kazakhstan, Turkey, India)**

Lens-shaped bodies of high-grade chromite are mined by open pit, then deepened underground. In India's Sukinda Valley, mines run by OMC, Tata Steel, IMFA and FACOR feed nearby ferrochrome plants. OMC sells much of its output by e-auction.

Higher-grade lumpy ore; deposits are smaller and India's high-grade (above 52% Cr2O3) output fell 60% in FY2025 (BigMint).
 USGS MCS 2026; BigMint (8 Aug 2025) **Submerged-arc furnace smelting to high-carbon ferrochrome (charge chrome)**

Chromite, coke and fluxes are fed to electric furnaces where carbon reduces chromium and iron oxides to an alloy of about 50-70% chromium. Open furnaces use lumpy ore; closed furnaces with pre-reduced pellets use less power. New designs such as SmeltDirect claim 70% lower power use (Engineering News 2026).

Adds value near the mine; uninterrupted cheap power is essential, which is why South African smelters shut in 2025.
 IMFA results press release (21 May 2025); BigMint (8 Aug 2025); Engineering News (20 Jan 2026) **Chromium metal, chemicals and stainless scrap recycling**

A small amount of chromite is roasted with soda ash to make sodium dichromate, the base for chemicals and for aluminothermic or electrolytic chromium metal used in superalloys. Stainless scrap is remelted directly, carrying its chromium back into new steel.

Metal and chemicals serve high-value niches; dichromate chemistry involves toxic hexavalent chromium.
 USGS MCS 2026; EU CRM study 2023 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.

#### Share produced as a by-product
 About 15% of primary supply comes as a by-product (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).

#### Who does it: global

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Glencore (Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture)** Down 63% from about 1,166 kt in 2024 after Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters were suspended in May and June 2025; chrome ore 3.6 Mt. | Switzerland / South Africa | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome smelting | 436 kt ferrochrome (attributable) | 2025 | [Glencore Full Year 2025 Production Report](https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/glencore--glen/full-year-2025-production-report-/9392468) |
| **Merafe Resources** | South Africa | 20.5% partner in the Glencore-Merafe venture | 112 kt ferrochrome (attributable) | 2025 | [Engineering News (20 Jan 2026)](https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ferrochrome-ventures-2025-output-63-lower-merafe-reports-2026-01-20) |
| **Samancor Chrome** Privately held; production not published. Signed an MoU with Eskom in December 2025 to find a power tariff that avoids more smelter closures. | South Africa | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome smelting | not published | 2025 | [Engineering News (20 Jan 2026)](https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/ferrochrome-ventures-2025-output-63-lower-merafe-reports-2026-01-20) |
| **Eurasian Resources Group (Kazchrome)** Production not found in sources consulted. Tilton and Guzman list the 'State of Kazakhstan' as the largest chrome producer in 2013 with 17.3% of world output; Kazchrome is Kazakhstan's main producer. | Kazakhstan | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome smelting | not published | 2025 | Tilton and Guzman (2016) |
| **Outokumpu** Company figure not found in sources consulted; Finland, the EU's only chromite producer, mined 1.9 Mt of ore in 2025 (USGS). | Finland | Kemi chromite mine, ferrochrome, stainless steel | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |

#### Who does it: India

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Odisha Mining Corporation** | India | chrome ore mining (state-owned), e-auctions | 1.35 Mt chrome ore | FY2025 | [BigMint (8 Aug 2025)](https://www.bigmint.co/events/5th-international-ferro-alloys-conference-2025/blog/india-chrome-ore-industry-performance-in-fy-25-bigmint-analysis) |
| **IMFA (Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys)** Chrome ore raised 701,863 t; a 100,000 t a year expansion at Kalinganagar is due in Q2 FY2027. | India | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome smelting (Odisha) | 260,190 t ferrochrome | FY2025 | [IMFA results press release (21 May 2025)](https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/IMFA_21052025133214_Press_Release.pdf) |
| **Tata Steel (Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division)** Ore output fell 39% from 0.96 Mt; ferrochrome output not found in sources consulted. | India | chrome ore mining (Sukinda), ferrochrome | 0.58 Mt chrome ore | FY2025 | [BigMint (8 Aug 2025)](https://www.bigmint.co/events/5th-international-ferro-alloys-conference-2025/blog/india-chrome-ore-industry-performance-in-fy-25-bigmint-analysis) |
| **FACOR** | India | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome | 0.18 Mt chrome ore | FY2025 | [BigMint (8 Aug 2025)](https://www.bigmint.co/events/5th-international-ferro-alloys-conference-2025/blog/india-chrome-ore-industry-performance-in-fy-25-bigmint-analysis) |
| **Balasore Alloys** Production not found in sources consulted. | India | chrome ore mining, ferrochrome (Odisha) | not published | FY2025 |  |

India is the fourth-largest chromite miner (3.0 Mt in 2025, USGS) with 79 Mt of ore reserves, almost all in Odisha's Sukinda Valley. It made 1.35 Mt of ferrochrome in FY2025 (BigMint) and exported 8.2% of world ferrochrome by value in 2024 (UN Comtrade).

## 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)
- [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)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/links/index.md)