Merafe Resources sustains stable FeCr output in 2024

Merafe Resources, a South African mining giant, reported on January 17 its full-year ferrochrome (FeCr) production for 2024, showing stable production levels of the key stainless steel raw material throughout the year.

In 2024, Merafe's attributable FeCr production from the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture reached 301,000 tonnes, a slight increase of about 0.3% compared to 300,000 tonnes in 2023, according to the company's report.

The marginal year-on-year increase was largely attributed to its strong production over the second and third quarters of the past year, as all operating smelters remained active throughout the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere, the company explained.

However, Merafe's production faced a setback in the first quarter of 2024. Due to worsened market conditions, the company temporarily halted operations at its Rustenburg FeCr smelter. This led to a sharp decline in the company's Q1 output, totaling just 77,000 tonnes, much lower than the 103,000 tonnes produced in the same quarter of 2023.

Similarly, the company's FeCr output of 70,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2024 was also lower than the 75,000 tonnes in Q4 2023, the report showed.

Merafe's revenue and operating income have been primarily driven by its share in the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture, which has a total annual installed FeCr production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes, as noted in the company's release.

Market sources point out that FeCr production in South Africa - home to one of the world's largest chrome reserves - has been on the decline in recent years. However, China – the world's largest consumer of FeCr - has continued to increase its consumption of imported FeCr in response to the country's growing demand for stainless steel production.

China imported 3.66 million tonnes of high-carbon FeCr in 2024, marking a 12.86% increase compared to 2023. Of these, 1.82 million tonnes came from South Africa, down by 3.43% year-on-year, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) on January 20.

In parallel, China's imports of chrome ore also saw a significant rise last year. GACC data showed that the import volume surged by 14.18% year-on-year to 20.93 million tonnes in 2024, with 17.03 million tonnes from South Africa, which marked a notable increase of 14.17%.

Written by Adele Pan, panqinjie@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com