Zimbabwe’s bourse in the resort city of Victoria Falls plans to start a commodity and electricity exchange in the first quarter of next year, its chief executive officer said.

The Energy Regulator has approved six-year negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) for ferrochrome smelters operated in South Africa by both Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome

Production of chrome concentrate increased to 336 683 t from 344 315 t in the previous quarter.

Shareholders of Merafe Resources are advised that the European benchmark ferrochrome price for the fourth quarter of 2023 has been settled at 153 US cents per pound, an increase of 1.32% from the third quarter of 2023.

The greenfield smelter capacity in Kalinganagar will be commissioned by FY26, and mining expansions will take six to seven years.

But the increase in sales prices has not been enough to offset rises in production costs, sources reported during the assessment period.

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed chromium compounds that can replace the noble metals osmium and ruthenium—two elements that are almost as rare as gold or platinum—in luminescent materials and catalysts.

Chrome ore has been headlined by ferrochrome and chrome producer Merafe Resources as the star of the show in the six months to June 30.