Clarification (March 16, 2009)

In our Feb. 9-15/09 issue, we stated in the article “Cliffs buys into KWG on ‘Ring of Fire’ chrome discovery” that chrome is a byproduct of Bushveld platinum group metals mining.

A reader alerted us that this is incorrect. The chromite (in the UG2 chromitite layer) is not recovered in milling, but is sent to tailings. This is because this chromite (when pure) contains only about 20% Cr₂O₃, which is not marketable. To be saleable it would have to contain in the vicinity of 40%+ Cr₂O₃.

At the same time, however, there is the example of Bushveld platinum miner Lonmin having installed additional plant equipment to treat its tailings to remove the majority of the chrome as a byproduct that is in excess of 40% Cr₂O₃ at one of its concentrators. In addition, Lonmin has a relationship with a third-party processor that has a similar impact on the company’s chrome output.