Ahmed Khan Malik

Mining of chromite in Balochistan is still being carried out manually due to a lack of focus on introducing modern mining techniques.  Balochistan possesses huge reserves of different minerals, including chromite. However, the province has been unable to tape this potential fully. Chromite has a broader market with a $2 billion global demand as it is used in the production of ferrochrome, which is then used for manufacturing stainless steel. Over 95% of chromium consumption is linked to metallurgical applications, with stainless steel alone representing 78% of consumption. Therefore, stainless steel production trends are the main determinant for chromium demand.  “Despite this huge potential, mining of chromite in Balochistan is done manually.

The process includes blasting inside mines, manual hammering and loading on dumpers,” Yasir Nawaz Farooqui, a researcher at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan says.  He noted that chromite was not used locally, but mine owners and agents sold lumps on the open streets of Muslim Bagh, which is the hub of chromite mining in Balochistan. He said some issues had been identified during field research, which included lack of infrastructure facilities in mining and processing areas, limited supply of electricity, lack of modern technology and support from relevant authorities, lack of exploration activities and focus on shifting from traditional to non-traditional markets, high freight costs, limited supply of raw chrome for further processing and high capital requirement for establishing a ferrochrome plant. 

He said Bolan and Lasbela Special Economic Zones were preferred locations for establishing ferrochrome production plants as they were not only close to the chromite-producing regions of Muslim Bagh, Khanozai (Pishin district), Nasai (Killa Saifullah), Gawal, Wadh (Lasbela), and Sonaro (Khuzdar), but also close to CPEC routes, thus easily transporting the finished goods to steel industries located in various parts of the country. “Owing to a lack of investment, infrastructure, energy and production problems, it is not feasible to set up a ferrochrome plant now. But, addressing the issues discussed above will definitely make it feasible,” Farooqui believes.

“Pakistan should have a distinct mining zone in order to have the entire value chain in one location, making the product more competitive in the international market,” he said. “Giving a tax-free zone status to the chrome processing areas will attract investors to participate in capital-intensive projects such as ferrochrome plants. The miners and producers should also be educated on the product and its value addition. Besides, energy issues should be resolved so that mining and processing can continue uninterrupted,” underscored the Trade Development Authority’s researcher.

Credit: INP-WealthPk