Current state of chrome industry in Russia

The paper analyzes the state of the sources of raw materials and production of chrome alloys in the Russian Federation. It is mentioned that the increase of chrome ore reserves in the last decade is insufficient, and principal reserves are located in the regions hard to develop. Issues of the production of charge chrome, changing standards towards decrease of chromium in the ferrochrome, and implementation of direct current furnaces for processing poor ores, dressing rejects and industrial wastes are becoming important because of low ore quality in the deposits currently being mined. Unlike the production of other ferroalloys where the tendency to development of small specialized plants is observed, production of ferrochrome is characterized by consolidation and establishment of holdings that incorporate not only mining and processing, but also preparative industries like sintering plants as well as mining and preparation of non-ore materials, viz. limestone and quartzite.