[SMM Chromium Flash] Outokumpu Unveils EvoMaterials Technology to Boost Ferrochrome's Chromium Content

FS Mining, a South African-registered company developing a chrome mine in Zimbabwe, is advancing plans for a US$500 million investment split between a US$100 million ferrochrome smelter and a US$400 million thermal power project, director Dr. Precious Mabuza said in an interview published September 25. The company is currently building a US$15 million wash plant as its first phase of development, and is progressing through the technical, engineering and financing stages of the planned smelter and power plant, with construction timelines dependent on completing feasibility work and securing the necessary approvals. The smelter is planned to begin with 16.5 MVA of sintering plant capacity, paired with a 25MW thermal power station in the project's first phase. Mabuza said the longer-term vision is to expand the power-generation component to 320MW, with the company hoping to extend rural electrification to communities surrounding its operations once the plant is built out. Eventual chrome production volumes will be determined once the final furnace configuration, engineering design and operating parameters are concluded, she said. Mabuza framed the investment around Zimbabwe's push for greater domestic beneficiation, noting the government has banned the export of raw minerals, including chrome, to force local value addition. She said the mine currently employs 100 people, with the company targeting 1,500 jobs at the smelter and power station once operational, and roughly 5,000 jobs across the wider value chain including mining, logistics, services and construction. The reliable baseload electricity from the planned thermal power station is central to the project's strategy, intended to support both the smelting operation and, eventually, electrification for nearby communities.

NewPhotonics and Tower Semiconductor announced high-volume shipments of laser-integrated optical engines for AI infrastructure. The 800G and 1.6T PICs use Tower’s PH18DA silicon-photonics platform with heterogeneously integrated InP components, enabling lasers, SOAs, modulators and photodetectors on one chip. Volume shipments of 6.4T NPO chipsets are planned for H1 2027. SMM believes this signals that AI optical-interconnect demand is translating into InP device demand, supporting high-purity indium consumption. However, shipment volumes and InP intensity were not disclosed, so the near-term indium uplift cannot yet be quantified.

India's chrome ore production rose 12% year-on-year to 3.53 million mt in fiscal year 2025-26, while ferrochrome production increased 10% to 1.49 million mt, according to data presented by the Indian Ferro Alloy Producers' Association (IFAPA) at the 6th International Ferro Alloys Conference (IFAC 2026) in Goa. The figures were released alongside data showing India's manganese ore imports rose 27% year-on-year to 4.03 million mt in the first half of 2026, underscoring a raw-material picture IFAPA described as mixed: rising domestic chrome ore and ferrochrome output on one hand, alongside deepening import reliance for manganese on the other. The data was presented against the backdrop of India's expanding steel sector, which IFAPA said is creating a new growth runway for domestic ferro-alloy producers. India's crude steel production reached approximately 165 million mt in calendar year 2025, up more than 10% year-on-year, with demand expected to continue growing at around 7% annually. India is targeting roughly 300 million mt of steelmaking capacity by fiscal year 2031, a scale IFAPA said would significantly widen the opportunity for chromium, manganese, silicon and other alloying inputs. The association also noted that India's per-capita steel consumption has risen from around 24 kg in 1991 to about 109 kg in 2025, a threshold it said could support a further phase of consumption growth. IFAPA Chairman Manish Sarda called for faster exploration and development of domestic chrome, manganese and other critical minerals to reduce import dependence, arguing that auction frameworks for mineral resources should be structured to encourage actual mine development rather than simply rewarding the highest bid. He said several manganese ore mines auctioned at high premiums remain non-operational because the underlying economics are unviable, a dynamic he said applies more broadly to securing indigenous raw-material supply for India's ferro-alloy sector under the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliance, policy. IFAPA separately called for competitive power costs and rationalization of electricity-related charges and levies for energy-intensive ferro-alloy producers, alongside zero import duties on raw materials for which adequate domestic grades are unavailable.