Chinese demand for beneficiated chrome ore rising, says Chromex's Lamming

London 03 February 2009 12:48

Chinese demand for beneficiated chrome ore is picking up even though stocks of unrefined material in China remain high, Chromex ceo Russell Lamming told MB. While crude ore consumption is still weak, there has been a modest improvement in demand for beneficiated chrome ore from Chinese ferro-chrome producers since the start of December, Lamming said. “The stocks are slowly getting depleted. At the end of the third quarter, the Chinese were taking run-of-mine ore but now it is beneficiated ore… There is demand out of China, and Chinese ferro-chrome buyers are definitely purchasing again,” he told MB. Despite the improvement, Lamming conceded that the market for chrome ore is much weaker than it was this time last year due to the global financial crisis and softer demand for stainless steel making raw materials. “The market is incredibly tough compared with last year....