Abstract
Chrome ores from six locations across the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa are used to investigate the effects of ore types on the smelting processes, such as the consumption of fluxes, reductant; and most importantly, the consumption of electricity.
The electric energy consumption is highly related to the SiO2 content of chrome ores. The lowest electric consumption of 3.31 MWh/t is required when the SiO2% of chrome ores is 6%. Considering the fact that the other contents do not change much in the selected 6 lumpy ores, an increase of SiO2 will decrease the contents of Cr and Fe oxides in the ores. As a result, it requires more ore and less quartzite to feed in the furnace. With the combined effect of more ores and less quartzite, the smelting process produces more slag and requires more electric energy to heat and melt the slag.