Why does most of China’s chromium ore come from South Africa?
Most of China’s chromium ore is imported from South Africa because: although many countries in the world have chromium ore resources, South Africa is the world’s largest chromium ore producer, and its reserves and output are among the highest in the world. China is the world’s largest chromium consumer, but domestic chromium resources are severely scarce, mainly distributed in remote western regions such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. China needs to import a large amount of chromium ore every year, among which South African chromium ore has become the preferred imported raw material for Chinese foundry companies due to its high quality and stability.
Global chromium ore resources are mainly distributed in South Africa, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, India, Finland, Turkey, Albania and other countries. Among them, South Africa is the world’s largest chromium ore producer, followed by Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe. In addition, other countries such as Afghanistan and the Philippines also have chromium ore resources, but the degree of mining is relatively low.
Distribution of major chromium ore resources in the world
South Africa: South Africa is the world’s largest chromium ore producer, with resources of about 5.5 billion tons, accounting for half of the world’s total resources.
Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan has about 1 billion tons of chromium ore resources and is also an important chromium ore producer.
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe has about 1 billion tons of chromium ore resources.
India: India has about 100 million tons of chromium ore resources.
Finland: Finland has 120 million tons of chromium ore resources.
Other countries: Albania, Turkey, Iran, etc. also have a certain amount of chromium ore resources.
Uses and industrial chain of chromium ore
Chromium ore is mainly used for casting of industrial products such as stainless steel, alloy steel, high-speed steel, alloy castings, alloy catalysts, etc., especially in the production of stainless steel and alloy steel, chromium ore is an indispensable raw material. In addition, chromium ore is also used in chemical industry, refractory materials and other fields. In the metallurgical industry, chromium ore is mainly used to produce ferrochrome and metallic chromium; in the chemical industry, it is used to produce chromium salts and other chromium compounds; in refractory materials, it is used to manufacture special refractory materials.
