JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum group metals and chrome coproducer Tharisa Minerals has entered into a five-year strategic cooperation agreement with steel producer Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco’s) joint venture (JV) company Shanxi Taigang Wanbang Furnace Charge.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tharisa will supply the JV with a minimum of 240 000 t/y of chrome, representing about 25% of Tharisa’s targeted production of one-million tonnes of metallurgical grade chrome concentrate.
The supply contract will start in September.
More stringent environmental regulations in China have meant the ferrochrome industry has started switching from open and semi-closed furnaces to more efficient and environment-friendly technologies such as those that use sintering and pelletising.
Tisco produces about four-million tons of stainless steel a year and, through its JV, has installed 700 000 t/y of ferrochrome sintering and pelletising capacity, in Finland, producing about 300 000 t/y of ferrochrome.
The stainless steel producer is considering a Phase 2 expansion of its Outokumpu ferrochrome sintering and pelletising plant, which would increase its ferrochrome production to 450 000 t/y and, subsequently, increase its requirements for metallurgical chrome concentrate.
“The cooperation agreement further cements our position in the Chinese market and bolsters our order book,” Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis said in a statement on Thursday.