ASX-listed African Chrome Fields (ACJ) is investing $1.5-billion in an exothermic chrome smelter near the Zimbabwe Midlands town of Kwekwe.
The smelter will have the capacity to produce 10 000 t of low-carbon ferrochrome a month and will process ore from the company’s 147 chrome claims on the mineral-rich Great Dyke.
COO Fred van Rensburg told the media during a visit to the project site that the smelter would produce ultra-low-carbon ferrochrome.
“We are setting up four chrome washing plants at the site that would convert chrome ore into chrome concentrate that would then be smelted
into ultra-low-carbon ferrochrome. We are investing about $1.5-billion in this project. We want to set up a mine here and also build a chrome smelting plant.
“The chrome smelting plant will process chrome concentrate into ultra-low-carbon ferrochrome in 45 seconds to 60 seconds,” he said.
The company also operates a modular chrome recovery plant consisting of a washing plant, a spiral concentrator set and two magnetic
separators which produce chrome concentrate and a magnetite product. ACJ owns 147 high-grade alluvial and lumpy chrome deposits on the Great Dyke.
Formerly known as TPL Corporation, ACJ is an Australia-based company engaged in the exploration and evaluation of mineral resources, predominantly focused on coal. Its portfolio includes a coal exploration project in the Canning basin, in Western Australia’s north-west, and the chrome project in Zimbabwe.