The Black Chrome Mine (BCM) company, a subsidiary of Chrometco, was placed under business rescue on 8 June 2022, following financial distress.

A series of business rescue announcements preceded the latest one for BCM. First, its parent company, Chrometco, went into business rescue in June 2021, followed by its controlling shareholder Sail Minerals confirming its own business rescue in February 2022.

Business rescue is not an unknown feature of South Africa’s chromium industry, with a swath of ferrochrome producers going down that route since 2015 amid eroding competitive advantages. While the narrative behind ferrochrome furnace closures is one of costs and the harsh reality of rising domestic energy costs, South African chromium ores have proven to be the pillar that underpins the Chinese ferrochrome and stainless steel industry.

Prices of South African chromite ores are now nearly twice their level when the Black Chrome mine was suspended in June 2021, surely an opportunity for South African chromite miners. In 2022, Project Blue forecasts a deficit for chromite supply for a second year running, as ferrochrome production recovers to pre-pandemic levels. Despite a strong resurgence in Turkish mine supply, not enough feed is leaving South African shores with material competing against coal, manganese and others for transport capacity as most sectors look to take advantage of high prices.