Ferro Alloys Corporation Looking For Strategic Partners

Steelmakers Circle Ferrochrome Manufacturer

India’s Ferro Alloys Corporation is looking for strategic partners as the company looks to move up to the next stage.

Joint managing director Ashish K Saraf admitted to Indian TV station NDTV that his company is looking for a tie-up and that preliminary approaches have been made to steelmakers Baosteel, Posco, Vedanta, JSW, Tata Steel and Amtek Auto.

"We are actively looking to bring in strategic investors into Ferro Alloys. It could be Tata Steel, Bao Steel etc, anyone who has capacities and requirement for ferro-chrome," Mr Saraf told NDTV.
The company has also given a mandate to E&Y to look for international partners and sources suggest that part of the mandate is a sale of up to 75% of the equity in Ferro Alloys Corporation and 47% in associated company FACOR Alloys. These are the stakes held by the company’s promoters with the balance held by financial institutions, corporate bodies and the general public.

Ferro Alloys Corporation has significant chrome ore mining assets including its complex in Orissa, and this is what makes the company so attractive to steelmakers
Sources suggest that any bid for Ferro Alloys is likely to be in the region of Rs40-45 a shares – a 50% premium over the current market prices – which would value the promoter holding at around Rs600 crore (US$135 million).

Ontario Lowlands Set For Mineral Boom

Significant Mineral Development In Ontario's Ring of Fire

The provincial government of Ontario has announced plans to develop the James Bay Lowlands in the north of the province.

More than 20 mining companies are hoping to cash in on an area believed to contain high-grade deposits of nickel, copper, zinc, gold, chromite and palladium.

The government plans to build a railway, roads and processing facilities in an area known locally as the Ring of Fire.

James Bay Lowlands is an extremely wet area on the edge of Canada’s boreal forest, some 300-400km from any existing permanent infrastructure; however investors are concentrating on a 12 km area with the Lowlands region. Currently, access to the general area is by float plane and helicopter.

Significant preparatory work, such as environmental assessments and feasibility studies will be needed before the real work can begin. Whatever infrastructure is built will depend on the nature of the mineral projects, however it is thought that winter roads on ice and snow would probably suffice for most projects, which can be adapted to seasonal production. However, there are plans for a 320km rail line which will link Nakina, north of Lake Superior, to chromite mines in the Ring Of Fire. This is because, unlike some other mineral projects in the area, chromite mining is expected to be a year-round activity.

Canada Chrome has staked mining claims along one possible route in order to secure a right-of-way. “We’re in the early process of evaluating the project,” says Nels Ojard, the firm’s group manager for special projects. Mr Ojard added that the project is probably five to seven years from becoming a reality.

Frank Smeenk, president of Canada Chrome’s parent company, KWG Resources, said it is too early to tell whether processing facilities such as smelters and concentrators will be built at the Ring of Fire or elsewhere. This depends largely on the consistency of an electricity supply.

“In the fullness of time there will probably be a (power) line along the railroad,” Mr Smeenk said. “With the economic downturn in Ontario the demand for electricity has fallen out a bit, so there’s lots of power in Ontario. The problem with it is the price is very high.”

Chromex Turns In Profit

AIM-listed, Cromex Mining turned in a profit of £195,000 for the year ended 30 September 2009, compared with a £1.4m loss in 2008.
The company has two key mining assets on the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, which between them have total resources of approximately 41 million tonnes of chromite.
Chromex successfully commissioned its processing facility at the Stellite open cast chrome mine in South Africa during the course of the year, thus enabling it to take advantage as the chrome market began to recover towards the end of 2009. The commissioning of the first phase was completed in August 2009 and used stockpiles mined in the early part of the financial year. This allowed mining operations at Stellite to be suspended during a period of adverse market conditions. Full mining restarted in January 2010.
Stellite will initially produce approximately 20,000 run of mine (ROM) tonnes per month, increasing to 40,000 ROM tonnes per month once a dense media separation circuit (DMS) is installed at the plant. This is expected to be completed during Q3 of 2010.

Both Stellite, and the Mecklenburg mine on the east limb of the Bushveld, are owned and operated by South African registered Chromex Mining Co, which is 74% owned by Chromex and 26% owned by their Black Economic Empowerment partner Umnotho WeSizwe.


Development at Mecklenburg project has been deferred pending the conclusion of a court case with Samancor Chrome Limited who applied to the South African High Court in 2008, to set aside the decision to award Chromex the Mining Rights.

The company said that it continues to consolidate its position as a long term chrome producer in southern Africa. Chromex has agreed to acquire 49% of Falvect Mining Ltd, a Zimbabwe-based company with chrome assets.

Gulf Mining Opens Oman's First Chrome Benefication Plant

Omani mining company, Gulf Mining Materials Company, opened the country’s first chrome ore beneficiation plant this week at Wadi Mahram in the north east of Oman. When commissioned, the plant will have an intake capacity of 15,000 tonnes per month.

Gulf Mining’s own chromite mine is situated close to the plant although the company says it will also process ore from other mines. It is envisaged that the finished chrome concentrate will be exported principally to companies in China and India.

Gulf Mining began its chromite ore mining operations in 2006, although up to now it has exported its chromite in raw form. The company is also active in laterite quarrying with a laterite quarry at Barka which mines around 30,000 tonnes per month. This is exported to the nearby United Arab Emirates. Marble quarrying is expected to commence shortly.

The opening of the chrome ore beneficiation plant is part of the company’s plan to diversify into value added processes. The company also hopes to begin mining for copper ore, iron ore, kaolin and limestone, among other minerals.


Des Nogalski

India's Indsil In Oman Ferrochrome Joint Venture

India’s Indsil Hydro Power and Manganese and its group sister company, Indsil Energy & Electrochemicals have entered into an arrangement with the Muscat Overseas Group in Oman to set up a form a 50:50 joint venture to set up a 75,000 tpy ferro chrome smelter in the Sultanate of Oman at a cost of US$30 million.

The project would have access to Muscat Overseas’ chrome ore assets in Oman. Indsil will provide the technology, operating and marketing expertise for the project. The share capital would be held equally by both the parties to the joint venture. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2011.

Assmang To Produce Ferromanganese At Machadodorp Works

South African ferrochrome producer Assmang has announced to shareholders that it plans to convert one of the furnaces at its Machadodorp Works to produce high-carbon ferromanganese, rather than ferrochrome. The converted furnace is expected to produce 4000 tonnes per month of HCFeMn and production will commence by the middle of this year.

In its statement Assmang said that it needs to meet higher than expected demand for high-carbon ferromanganese but that it does not have excess capacity at its Cato Ridge Works to expand production.

The company said that it still expects to meet its contractual obligations for ferrochrome and that it is committed to continuing ferrochrome production. Its ferrochrome furnaces were idle for much of 2009.

Chromex Reopens Stellite Chrome Mine

South African chrome miner Chromex Mining has recommenced mining at its Stellite opencast chrome mine on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. The decision follows improved market conditions which have led to the drawdown of its stockpiles over the past six months.

The Stellite operation will initially produce around 20,000 tonnes per month increasing to 40,000 tonnes per month following improvements to its beneficiation plant which are expected to be completed in Q3 2010.

Chromex currently produces 42% and 44% metallurgical grade chrome concentrate and the Company hopes to be in a position to market a sized lumpy chrome product in addition to chemical and metallurgical grade concentrates.

Chromex CEO Russell Lamming said, "Despite the challenging chrome market conditions over the past year we have continued to invest in our operations, channelling our focus into building a cost efficient producing chrome mine at Stellite. In this vein, with market conditions beginning to improve, and a solid orebody containing circa 31.9 million tonnes of chromite to utilise, we feel that the time is right to recommence our mining operations and deliver an uplift in value for shareholders in 2010."