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'SA faces ferrochrome shortage'

International Ferro Metals SA's (IFMSA) new 267,400 tonne ferrochrome plant will be well placed to help fill production shortfalls from South Africa when the majority of smelters are shut down at some point to be made more environmentally friendly, IMFSA CEO Ronnie Barnard said on Friday.

Out of some 45 ferrochrome furnaces in South Africa roughly eight are closed furnaces while the rest are open or semi-closed.

Ferrochrome production generates chrome six, a toxic substance that is better managed in closed furnaces, Barnard said.

"The supply of ferrochrome is a little over demand now but it has been cut back. There are some environmental issues and other producers will have to cut back even more. Luckily we have closed furnaces and won't produce chrome six," Barnard told a media briefing in Johannesburg.

Prices are likely to rise because less ferrochrome will come onto the market when the conversion of furnaces happens over the next five to 10 years amid growing demand for the critical component in stainless steel production, he said.

South Africa accounts for 85% of the ferrochrome going into global stainless steel production. Total world ferrochrome output is expected to climb to 15 million tonnes annually in the next decade from just over six million tonnes currently.

An expert at Pyromet, the largest maker of furnaces in South Africa and the supplier of IFMSA's two furnaces, reckons that it will take about R100m and some four months to convert an open furnace to one that is a sealed or closed unit.

Stuart Elliot, the financial director at Merafe Resources, which has a joint venture with Xstrata for its chrome operations, said both semi-closed and closed furnaces produce chrome six.

"We have closed and semi-closed furnaces. There's no legislation that exists that requires us to convert from semi-closed to closed furnaces," he told Miningmx.

"On both our furnaces we manage and contain chrome six within environmental legislation," he added.

The minerals and energy department could not be reached for comment.

Barnard said IFMSA's plant, situated right next to its Buffelsfontein mine, will have very low costs, making it, he estimated, the second-cheapest producer behind ASA Metals. Ferrochrome producers decline to make public their production costs.

IFMSA is expected to start production in 18 months. It will create nearly 1,000 jobs at the plant and through contract mining of its deposits.

It plans to double output, but Barnard did not say exactly when this would happen.

IFMSA has already signed contracts for 64% of its output to go to Jisco, a Chinese steel maker that has a 26% stake in the company, and Commercial Metals Company in the United States. Both these companies will act as marketing agents.

International Ferro Metals Limited, an Australian company listed on AIM, wholly owns IFMSA.

The leading chrome producers in South Africa are Samancor, Xstrata, JSE-listed base metals company Assmang, independent operator Hernic, JSE-listed empowerment miner Merafe Resources and Asa Metals.

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