By Nicole Walton
Undated – Cliffs Natural Resources has announced it intends to purchase chromite properties from a Canadian company. Cliffs has entered into an agreement with Freewest Resources Canada to acquire that company's interests in three large chromite deposits in Canada's "Ring of Fire." The mineral is an essential raw material for the production of chromium, and more than 90 percent of chromite ore is converted into ferrochrome, a critical ingredient in the production of stainless steel.
Cliffs officials say the acquisition will allow them to apply their expertise in open-pit mining to a chromite ore resource base, and form the foundation of North America's only ferrochrome production operation.
The planned mine is expected to produce 1 million to 2 million tonnes of chromite ore per year, which will be further processed into 400 to 800 tonnes of ferrochrome.