High Carbon Ferrochrome Spot and Foreign Market Reference Prices
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High Carbon Ferrochrome Spot and Foreign Market Reference Prices
Ferrochrome is the carrier that puts chromium into stainless and alloy steel, and the high carbon grades dominate trade volume because they are the cheapest way to buy chromium units. The reference prices below compare foreign quotations and concluded sale values for material from three origins on 30 April. All values are quoted in US dollars per pound of contained chromium on a CIF basis, and the chromium and silicon contents refer to the typical analysis of each origin.
| Origin | Typical analysis | Foreign quotation | Sold price | Particle size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Cr about 48-50%, Si about 5% | 0.88-0.90 | 0.87-0.89 | 10-150 mm and 200 mm |
| India | Cr about 60%, Si about 4% | 0.88-0.91 | 0.87-0.89 | 10-150 mm |
| Kazakhstan | Cr about 70%, Si about 0.5% | 0.90-0.95 | 0.88-0.93 | 10-50 mm and 150 mm |
The spread between quotation and sold price is narrowest for the Indian material and widest for the Kazakh material, which reflects the fact that a high chromium charge is bought mainly by mills that need a specific charge balance rather than by the general market. South African material sets the floor for the whole market because its chromium to iron ratio and its large available tonnage make it the reference feedstock for stainless steel producers.
Grade Designations and Chemical Composition
High carbon ferrochrome is graded by chromium content and by the maximum carbon that the grade may carry. The designation itself encodes the carbon limit, so FeCr55C3 permits up to 3.0% carbon while FeCr67C6 permits up to 6.0%. Composition ranges for the commonly traded designations are set out below; the grading practice follows the established ferroalloy designations rather than any single national standard, so buyers should always confirm the analysis certificate against the ordered designation.
| Category | Designation | Chromium content | Carbon (max) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low carbon | FeCr69C0.03 | 63-75% | 0.03% |
| Low carbon | FeCr55C3 | 52-60% | 3.0% |
| Medium carbon | FeCr69C2 | 52-60% | 2.0% |
| High carbon | FeCr67C6 | 60-72% | 6.0% |
| High carbon | FeCr55C6 | 52-60% | 6.0% |
Phosphorus and sulfur limits tighten as the carbon content falls, because low carbon grades are produced by refining a high carbon charge and the refining step also removes part of the phosphorus and sulfur. This is one reason why low carbon ferrochrome carries a premium well above the high carbon reference price, even though the chromium content of the two products is similar.
Particle Size, Packaging and Delivery Basis
High carbon charge chrome is normally supplied in 10-150 mm lumps, with 10-50 mm and 0-10 mm fines available for different charging systems.
Low carbon and medium carbon grades are usually screened to 10-50 mm, because small additions must dissolve quickly and uniformly in the ladle.
Bulk material moves in lined containers or in big bags with a declared net weight, and the chromium content used for invoicing is the certified figure, not the typical analysis.
Quotations are stated on a CIF basis per pound of contained chromium, so freight and the chromium to iron ratio both change the delivered cost per tonne of alloy.
Because the pricing unit is the pound of chromium rather than the tonne of alloy, the cost comparison between two origins is only meaningful once the certified chromium content and the particle size distribution are known. A shipment that is one percentage point lower in chromium delivers proportionately fewer chromium units for the same tonnage, and that difference is usually larger than the freight saving that attracted the buyer in the first place.
Metallurgical Use in Stainless and Alloy Steel
Almost all ferrochrome is consumed in stainless steel melting, where it is charged into the electric arc furnace and then refined in an argon oxygen decarburisation converter. High carbon grades are charged early so that the carbon they carry can be removed in the converter together with the carbon of the melt; low carbon grades are added at the end of the process, when the carbon level must be held below the limit of the steel grade and oxygen blowing would no longer be acceptable.
Outside stainless steel, ferrochrome is used in tool steels, bearing steels, heat resistant castings and wear resistant irons, and it is a standard addition in some high chromium white iron mill liners. Recovery in the melt depends on the oxidation state of the bath at the moment of addition and normally runs above 95% for high carbon grades charged into the furnace, but it drops when the material is added to a highly oxidised ladle before deoxidation.
The chromium supplied by the alloy raises hardenability, improves resistance to oxidation at high temperature and, above about 10.5% in the steel, forms the passive surface layer that defines stainless steel. Silicon carried in the alloy acts as a deoxidiser and is therefore useful at charge time, but the same silicon must be accounted for in the final chemistry of the heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is high carbon ferrochrome cheaper than the low carbon grade?
Low carbon grades are produced by refining a high carbon charge and need more process steps per unit of chromium, so they carry a refining premium on top of the base chromium price.
Q: What does the number in FeCr55C3 mean?
The first figure is the nominal chromium content, about 55%, and the second is the maximum carbon content, 3.0%, so the designation states the charge chemistry directly.
Q: What is the pricing unit for ferrochrome?
Foreign market quotations are normally stated in US dollars per pound of contained chromium on a CIF basis, not per tonne of alloy.
Q: Which size fraction should be ordered?
10-150 mm lumps for furnace charging and 10-50 mm material for ladle additions, with the fines fraction agreed separately if the seller screens to a wider range.
Q: Can grades outside the listed table be supplied?
Yes. Chromium ranges and size fractions outside the standard designations are produced to the analysis and sizing agreed for the order.
Q: How is chromium checked after melting?
Each heat is sampled and analysed by optical emission spectrometry, and the chromium figure from that certificate is the basis for both quality release and invoicing of the delivered lots.
