Chrome: A Vital Part of Modern Steel

Chrome is a crucial industrial material with a wide range of applications. Here's a breakdown:

The Importance of Chrome in Stainless Steel:

• Over 90% of chrome goes towards making ferrochrome, an alloy of chrome and iron.
• Ferrochrome is then used to produce stainless steel, which contains 10-30% chrome.
• Chrome gives steel its strength and rust resistance.

Chrome Ore Mining Leaders:

• Only six countries produce over 1 million tonnes of chrome ore annually:
• South Africa (world leader with 72% of reserves, producing 50% of global output)
• Turkey
• Kazakhstan
• Finland
• Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's Chrome Potential:

• Zimbabwe boasts 12% of global chrome reserves.
• Despite its reserves, production remains low (less than 4% of global output).
• Other countries with smaller reserves surpass Zimbabwe's production.

The Takeaway:

Chrome plays an irreplaceable role in the steel industry, and Zimbabwe has the potential to be a major player in chrome production.

Zimbabwe Pushes Lithium Miners Towards Battery Production

Zimbabwe is requiring lithium mining companies to submit plans for local production of battery-grade lithium by March 2024. This aims to capture a greater share of the growing market for the mineral used in electric vehicle batteries.The southern African nation, Africa's largest lithium producer, banned exporting raw lithium ore last year and implemented a 5% tax on concentrates.

Lithium has become Zimbabwe's third-biggest mineral export, earning $209 million in the first nine months of 2023.The government considers processing lithium concentrate into battery-grade material as true value addition. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that existing miners must submit plans for this process by the deadline. New mining licenses won't be issued without such approved plans.

Spodumene is a lithium aluminium inosilicate mineral.

• It is the primary source of lithia for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, used in lithium batteries.
• Tech-grade Spodumene is also used in various industries like glass, glass-ceramics, ceramics, frits and glaze.
• Lithium hydroxide made from spodumene is used in special industrial lubricants.