German metals group Cronimet said on Friday it bought with a group of unnamed Dubai-based investors a 70.5 percent shareholding in Indian ferro chromium producer GMR Ferro Alloys & Industries Ltd. The seller was India's GMR Group and no price was given. Privately-owned Cronimet said in a statement approval from Indian competition authorities had already been received. GMR Ferro Alloys, based in Tekkali Mandal in India's Andhra Pradesh state, produces about 27,500 tonnes of ferro chromium annually, Cronimet said. About 75 percent of output is exported to Europe, China, Japan and South Korea. Cronimet said the move continued its international expansion strategy. The group has global operations in recycling of steel alloy scrap and trading of ferro-alloys and chromium nickel alloys plus a wide range of other metals largely focused on the stainless steel industry. It has 50 locations worldwide and handled 1.05 million tons of metal sales in 2007 generating turnover of 3.2 billion euros in 2007. A consortium headed by Cronimet in April this year acquired the mining rights to a chrome ore deposit in the Bushfeld geographical complex in South Africa. Privately-owned Cronimet plans to start South African chrome ore mining by the end of 2008 and hopes 2009 ore production will reach 400,000 tons. In 2004, the group bought a majority shareholding in Armenian copper mine Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine which it has been steadily expanding under a $60 million investment program. - Reuters As a global leader, Cronimet commands a critical position in the recycling of secondary raw materials. The increased demand for stainless steel products is no longer achievable without the use of these materials. Efficient recycling technologies and new ways of using secondary products are becoming increasingly important. This ensures the economic production of stainless steel products and at the same time preserves our natural resources and our environment. Cronimet is on the forefront of these technologies and we are constantly working with our customers and suppliers to develop new and innovative methods, allowing us to feed a combination of materials into the recycling process resulting in higher monetary returns.
