3.4.3.1 Availability and consumption     

Chromite has been scarce all along, so China started to import chromite in 1952 in order to meet the needs of economic construction. The import of that year was 200 tons and the figure was 5,200 tons and up to 10,000 tons in 1955 and 1957 respectively. In 1995 the import topped 1,380,900 tons. 764,400 tons and 894,000 tons of chromite were imported in 1996 and 1997 respectively (Table 3.4.3).

Table 3.4.3 Import of chromite in China (1952~1997)(t)

According to Statistics of Iron and Steel Production in China, China consumed 1,579,000 tons of chromite in 1995 (including the ores for the processing of exported chromite products). Among this figure, 198,000 tons were produced in China, amounting to 12.5% of the total, while 1,380,900 tons were imported, amounting to 87.5%. In 1996 the total consumption was 894,000 tons (including the ores for the processing of exported chromite products), of which 130,000 tons were produced in China (14.5%) and 764,000 tons imported (85.5%). The corresponding figures of 1997 are 1,094,000 tons, 200,000 tons (18.3%) and 894,000 tons (81.7%). 
   
Chromite is mainly used in the production of ferrochrome for stainless steel, heat-resisting steel and other steel alloys. China produced 649,000 tons of ferrochrome in 1995, 250,000 tons for domestic consumption and 323,000 tons for export. The corresponding figures for 1997 are 478,000 tons, 250,000 tons and 98,000 tons (decrease by 25% compared with 1996).     

Stainless steel materials are far from sufficient for domestic demands. From 1992~1996, 500,000~700,000 tons of stainless steel materials were needed every year, but China could produce only 200,000~300,000 tons, so 300,000~500,000 tons of stainless steel materials were imported. In China, the production of stainless steel makes up merely0.2£¥~0.3% of the total steel production, which is far lower than the world level, i.e. 1.93%. With the rapid and sustained development of the Chinese economy, the demand for stainless steel products will be further increased. It is estimated that 1 million and 2 million tons of stainless steel are needed in 2000 and 2010 respectively, which cannot be satisfied in terms of homemade stainless steel because of high cost of production and backward steel-making technology of China.     

Assuming that China produces 600,000 tons of stainless steel in 2000, about 420,000 tons of ferrochrome are necessary. Smelting of such 420,000 tons of ferrochrome will consume about 1.1 million tons of ores (2.6 tons of ores for smelting 1 ton of ferrochrome). Besides, 150,000 tons of chromite are needed for the production of refractories and chemical products, so about 1.25 million tons of ores are demanded in 2000. If China will produce 900,000 tons of stainless steel materials in 2010, 630,000 tons of ferrochrome will be consumed, which need about 1.64 million tons of chromite. Altogether 1.9 million tons of chromite are required in 2010, including the consumption for refractory (3,0000 tons) and chemical (240,000 tons) uses.     

The output of chromite (lumps and concentrates) is expected to be 100,000 tons or so in 2000 and there will be a shortage of 1.15 million tons in terms of 1.25 million tons in need. The unbalance could be more evident in 2010, namely 1.8 million tons short, which can be solved entirely by means of import.

3.4.3.2 Trends     

China is poor in chromite resources and breakthroughs seem unlikely in the near future in chromite prospecting. The present production status of some major mines is as follows. After extension, the Luobusa Mine will have a mining scale of 100,000 tons; the annual production of merchantable ores of the Sartokay Mine will be reduced to about 20,000 tons; Inner Mongolia can produce 2,000~3,000 tons of concentrates; the annual output of the Dadaoerji Mine is about 20,000 tons; and the mines in Qinghai have unstable production. Therefore, it is predicted that the output of merchantable ores will be no more than 150,000 tons by 2010.     

China has a relatively high production capacity of ferrochrome at present, 700,000~800,000 tons annually, which can meet the demands for both domestic (420,000 tons) and foreign (300,000 tons) markets by 2000. The key problem is the shortage of chromite.     

There are plenty of chromite resources in the world and the available reserves can satisfy the demand of the whole world for hundreds of years. However, the chromite resources are evenly distributed to a large extent. South Africa holds 81.1% of the total reserves and 48.7% of the total production of the world and Kazakhstan occupies 8.65% of the total reserves and 11.6% of the total output. Other major countries include India, Turkey, Finland, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Albania, Russia and Iran. Therefore, it is imperative to make full use of not only domestic but also foreign chromite resources in many years to come.     

To utilize foreign resources, cooperative exploration and exploitation can be carried out with countries enriched in chromite resources to set up some stable supply bases in addition to purchasing chromite from international markets.     

The Chinese productive capacity of ferrochrome is relatively high, so that it can satisfy not only domestic but also export demands. In 1996, 130,000 tons of ferrochrome and 31,000 tons of Si-Cr alloy were exported to earn US $ 118.574 million and 25.26 million respectively. The total earned foreign exchanges are US $ 143,834,000, showing a significant economic benefit.     

With increasing production and consumption of stainless steel, the recovery of waste chromite products should be dealt with timely. According to relevant reports, in the US a considerable amount of chromite was recovered from purchased stainless steel wastes in 1995, amounting to 22% of its demand. China should take measures to strengthen the recovery of chromite wastes so as to alleviate the shortage of chromite resources.