What is it?
The element that makes stainless steel stainless — at about eleven percent chromium, steel grows an invisible film that stops rust.
Why does it matter?
There is no substitute for chromium in stainless steel, and supply is unusually concentrated in southern Africa.
Deeper written sections for this material have not been published yet. Everything below is drawn straight from the source datasets and is complete.
Where it comes from in the rock
All ore minerals →These are the minerals that actually carry chromium. A deposit is only an orebody if one of them is concentrated enough to pay for digging it up.
Chromite
The only ore of chromium, formed in layered mafic intrusions where it settles out in bands.
Who produces it
See it on a map →Mine production
Mine productionthousand metric tons 2025 (estimated) World total 51,000 thousand metric tons
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · USGS reports chromite ore gross weight, not contained chromium. · source ↗
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 23,000 | 45.1% |
| Turkey | 9,000 | 17.6% |
| Kazakhstan | 7,000 | 13.7% |
| Other countries | 3,000 | 5.9% |
| India | 3,000 | 5.9% |
| Zimbabwe | 2,000 | 3.9% |
| Brazil | 2,000 | 3.9% |
| Finland | 1,900 | 3.7% |
| United States | Zero | — |
| World total | 51,000 | 100% |
“Withheld” means the USGS suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing an individual company's data — it does not mean zero. Country rows do not always sum to the world total because the source rounds each figure independently and does not always break out an “other countries” line.
Who holds the reserves
Reserves: Cr2O3 content
Reserves: Cr2O3 contentthousand metric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 110,000 | 20.4% |
| Kazakhstan | 100,000 | 18.5% |
| Zimbabwe | 78,000 | 14.4% |
| India | 27,000 | 5.0% |
| Finland | 16,000 | 3.0% |
| Turkey | 5,700 | 1.1% |
| Brazil | 1,000 | 0.2% |
| United States | 630.0 | 0.1% |
| Other countries | Not applicable | — |
| World total | >540,000 | 100% |
The source publishes this world total as a bound rather than a point figure, so the shares in the last column are themselves bounds.
Reserves: Ore
Reserves: Orethousand metric tons 2024
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 350,000 | 29.2% |
| Kazakhstan | 230,000 | 19.2% |
| Zimbabwe | 140,000 | 11.7% |
| India | 79,000 | 6.6% |
| Finland | 63,000 | 5.2% |
| Turkey | 27,000 | 2.2% |
| United States | 8,500 | 0.7% |
| Brazil | 3,900 | 0.3% |
| Other countries | Not applicable | — |
| World total | >1,200,000 | 100% |
The source publishes this world total as a bound rather than a point figure, so the shares in the last column are themselves bounds.
Price
Price: Chromium metal (gross weight), dollars per pound
Annual averagedollars per pound
Basis: Price: Chromium metal (gross weight), dollars per pound. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.
Price: Chromite ore (gross weight), dollars per metric ton
Annual averagedollars per metric ton
Basis: Price: Chromite ore (gross weight), dollars per metric ton. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.
Price: Ferrochromium (chromium content), dollars per pound
Annual averagedollars per pound
Basis: Price: Ferrochromium (chromium content), dollars per pound. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.
What it is used for
All end markets →| End market | What it does there | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Power | Corrosion resistance in reactor steels | Important |
Follow it across the borders
All journeys →Where a consignment of this material actually goes — every country, every custodian, and what is left behind at each step.
New Caledonian laterite to stainless steel An island that smelts its own ore, and pays for it with the most expensive electricity in the industry.