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Ferro chrome market remains tight, International Ferro says
Thu 25 Sep 2008
South African ferro-chrome producer International Ferro Metals Ltd (IFL) says it expects the market for its product to remain tight, with rising demand from the stainless steel industry and restricted production because of power shortages.
“Given the continued rise in demand and sustained supply constraints, the outlook for prices remains robust,” the company said in a stock exchange filing obtained by Steel Business Briefing.
As SBB has reported, ferro-chrome prices have virtually doubled in the last year and currently stand at around $2/pound.
IFL has been obliged to curtail its expansion plans because of the electricity shortage in South Africa. In the year ended 30 June 2008, its first full year of production, the company produced 205,607 t of FeCr. This represented 77% of its rated capacity of 267,000 t.
IFL has announced plans to raise FeCr capacity to 665,000 tonnes/year. But until the electricity supply situation is clarified, it cannot implement this plan. Instead it will install a co-generation plant that should allow for an additional 27,000 t/y of FeCr production, and will also install a new chromite beneficiation plant producing concentrates for sale.
