Kno wn f or its high c orr osion r esis tanc e and har dnes s chr ome is es sential in the pr oduction of s tainles s s t eel which ac c ounts f or 85 of its c ommer cial use CHROME LEADERSHIP FORUM Ov ervie w and appr oach In 20 19 the chr ome indus try pr oduc ed 19 7Mt which w as sold f or R228 billion South A frica s annual pr oduction has mor e than doubled sinc e 2009 when it w as 7 6Mt as a r esult of a sus tained incr ease in pric es T he 19 6 9 3 dir ect emplo y ees in the sect or earned R6 1 billion in 20 19 Global chr ome r eserv es ar e es tima t ed t o be in the r egion of 12 billion t onnes sufcient t o meet curr ent demand le v els f or c enturies t o c ome A c c or ding t o the 20 18 US Geological Surv e y South A frica and K azakhs tan hos t 9 5 of the w orld s chr omium r eserv es shipping gr ade a t 200 000 and 230 000 t onnes r espectiv ely South A frica has been the w orld s lar ges t pr oduc er ac c ounting f or 48 of global chr omit e pr oduction but has no w been surpas sed b y China T he Chr ome L eadership F orum member c ompanies include Anglo American A frican Rainbo w Miner als As sor e Bauba Pla tinum Glenc or e Allo y s Mer af e R esour c es Northam Pla tinum Samanc or Siban y e S tillw a t er and T harisa T his ne w f orum met se v er al times during 20 19 in F ebruary Ma y and Oct ober and deliber a t ed on the f ollo wing is sues A T erms of R ef er enc e w as fnalised and it w as agr eed tha t a holis tic appr oach will be f ollo w ed due t o the div er gent c ons tr aints and int er es ts of the chr ome or e miners and f err ochr ome allo y pr oduc ers A fr ame w ork f or w ork on a dr aft s tr a t egy f or chr ome has been agr eed upon and the frs t dr aft r eport w as pr esent ed t o the f orum with subsequent r efnements and upda t es during the y ear Due t o the una v ailability of r eadily ac c es sible da ta on the sect or the help of a c onsultanc y in the UK has been solicit ed t o augment da ta Challenges and opportunities Mos t of South A frica s chr ome is e xport ed as or e t o China wher e it is pr oc es sed int o f err ochr ome V ola tility in the chr ome mark et has sinc e 20 17 aba t ed some wha t giv en the o v ersupply of appr o xima t ely 3Mt per annum Although South A frica hos ts 7 0 of the w orld s chr omium r esour c es it only c ommands 46 of pr oduction Giv en the incr easing demand f or chr ome particularly fr om China ther e is signifcant need t o incr ease local pr oduction A f e w critical is sues ha v e been identifed tha t if r esolv ed w ould arr es t decline and set the chr ome or e and f err ochr omium c omponents of the indus try on a ne w gr o wth pa th Electricity a v ailability and escala ting tarifs had the ef ect of endangering the c ontinued e xis t enc e or full utilisa tion of the f err ochr ome smelting capacity in the c ountry A s tudy c ommis sioned b y the Department of T r ade and Indus try has been giv en the brief t o in v es tiga t e an e xport tax t o support the allo y s indus try It is f elt tha t further inc entiv es f or capital int ensiv e smelt ers should be in v es tiga t ed T his is under further discus sion within the leadership f orum and with the v arious authorities A c c es s t o c os t c ompetitiv e r ail and harbour capacity ar e of vital importanc e t o the chr ome or e pr oduc ers t o f acilita t e chr ome e xports In deliber a tions with T r ansnet it became clear tha t inefciencies ar e link ed t o w agon capacity but also crime and theft of r ail fr eight equipment and o v erhead electricity and signal cables and s y s t ems Crime and theft a t mining c ompanies has bec ome a thr ea t t o the c ontinued oper a tion of some mines Illegal mining of chr ome has bec ome widespr ead but actions t o c omba t it ar e limit ed due t o the f act tha t chr ome is not clas sifed as a pr ecious metal Se v er al initia tiv es ar e underw a y t o identify the gaps in legisla tion and t o implement policing t o try t o curtail this In No v ember a t a c ons tructiv e meeting with the Minis t er of Miner als and Ener gy the Minis t er w as solicit ed t o support ef orts t o r esolv e these c ons tr aints on the indus try T her e w as also a r eques t tha t the Minis t er appoints a points person in his department t o act as a champion f or chr ome and as c onduit f or c ontact with the department P age 43 MINERALS C OUNCIL SOUTH AFRICA INTEGRA TED ANNU AL REVIEW 20 19