Executive Interviews

Asian Metal: Thanks for joining our interview, Mr. Chimbira, please introduce your company briefly.

Mr. Chimbrira: Thanks for your invitation. Our company's name is Mineral Heritage Investments (Pvt) Ltd, and we are a local company based in Zimbabwe and focuses on chrome ore business. We are doing the mining business and we are also cooperating with the local miners. Currently, we could provide about 6,000t of Zimbabwean chrome concentrate 48-52%, and almost 10,000t of Zimbabwean chrome lump 38-44% each month. We used to sell chrome ore to domestic ferrochrome plants before 2022, but we gradually focus more and more on the export market in the recent two years. Currently the chrome ore export businesss accounts for about 80% of our total business. Most of our clients are from China, and we would like to promote our export business by supplying more products to more Chinese clients.

Asian Metal: What are the differences between South African and Zimbabwean chrome ore?

Mr. Chimbrira: Compared to South African chrome ore, Zimbabwean chrome ore usually has higher Cr203 content and higher Cr/Fe radio, which can mainly be used for production of low carbon ferrochrome which has high requirements for the chrome grade. For example, Zimbabwean chrome concentrate mainly contains Cr2O3 48-52%, but the Cr2O3 content for South African chrome concentrate is mainly 40-44%. The Cr/Fe ratio is around 2 for Zimbabwean chrome ore, but it is only around 1.3-1.5 for South African chrome ore. Because of the high Cr2O3 content and Cr/Fe ratio, the Zimbabwean chrome concentrate prices are around USD350-370/t CIF China, and the prices for South African chrome concentrates stand at USD280-300/t CIF China.

Asian Metal: We can see that the import prices of chrome ore to China, especially South African chrome ore, started to increase from July to September in 2023, what do you think are the reasons for the price increase?

Mr. Chimbrira: The prices of South African chrome ore started to increase from USD280/t CIF China in mid July to USD305/t CIF China in late September. We think firstly it was because of the tight supply from the South African market. As far as l know, the South Africa market also suffered from lack of electricity and increased energy cost. Secondly, there is only less than 2-month spot stocks in Chinese market, which is less than 2 or 3 years ago. The the prices of chrome ore from other countries like Zimbabwe and Turkey also increased following the increased prices of South African chrome ore.

Asian Metal: What are the impacts of the increased prices on your company's business in Q3, 2023?

Mr. Chimbrira: After the prices increased, we saw better demand in Q3 actually. We received more inquires and closed more orders. To be more specific, before the prices increased, we sold around 3,000-4,000t of chrome concentrate each month, but after the prices increased, we sold around 5,000-6,000t each month. And our selling prices also increased, the prices increased from 350USD/t CIF China to USD370/t CIF China in Q3.

Asian Metal: What about the price trend and market demand in Q4?

Mr. Chimbrira: We can see that the prices firstly decreased and then kept steady during Q4, and the prices of South African chrome concentrate 40-42% decreased from USD300/t CIF China in early October to USD280/t to early November, and then the prices stood at USD280/t till the end of Q4. The prices of Zimbabwean chrome concentrate 48-50% also decreased from USD370/t in early October to USD365/t in early November, and then kept at USD360/t till the end of Q4. We think the demand slightly decreased in October and then kept unchanged in November and December.

Asian Metal: How dou you foresee the price trend and market demand in Q1 of 2024?

Mr. Chimbrira: We think the prices would keep steady in Q1 2024. The prices of South African chrome concentrate 40-42% would stand at USD280/t CIF China. The prices of Zimbabwean chrome concentrate 48-50% will stand at USD360/t CIF China. In terms of the demand, we believe that there would also be no obvious change compared with last quarter.

Asian Metal: Please tell us the development plan of your company.

Mr. Chimbrira: We will do our best to maintain our current business and we plan to further explore the Chinese market and find more Chinese clients whether traders or consumers. We target at a monthly export volume of about 10,000t of chrome concentrate 48-52% to China in 2024.

Asian Metal: Thank you for your sharing and wish you good luck!

Mr. Chimbrira: Thank you again for your invitation.