Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe reports that discussions are under way within government and with manganese and chrome producers in an effort to halt the decline in domestic value addition, epitomised be the closure of more than half of the country’s 59 chrome furnaces in recent decades. Speaking at the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s bargaining conference, Mantashe argued that demand for the ferroalloys produced from both minerals was poised to rise, partly on the back of green technologies such as batteries but also from traditional sectors such as construction. He argued ... (full story)