Eti Krom, a subsidiary of Turkey's Ildirim, has suspended exports of ferrochrome and chrome ore for an unspecified period due to logistical problems caused by the damage caused by the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
Damage to the railway line from the Eti Krom mine and ferrochrome plant to Turkey's southern seaport forced the company to suspend exports.
The rail outage made the company's main export route, Port Iskenderun, impassable, which was also closed until further notice due to earthquake damage and subsequent fires, according to Turkish maritime authorities. More than 1,000 containers caught fire.
The nearest alternative is the port of Mersin, 209 km west, which is operational and shipping companies are rerouting their traffic there. But with the railways out of service, Eti Krom products could not reach ports.
"All shipments of chromium ore and ferrochrome have been stopped due to logistical problems related to the earthquake in eastern Turkey," said a source close to the operation. "It's not clear when it will return to normal."
Eti Krom produces high carbon ferrochrome alloys with a minimum chromium content of 65pc. European prices for the grade were last reviewed on Feb. 9 and rose to $2.20-2.50 per lb/day from $2.08-2.36 per lb/day on Jan. 31, with market participants saying lower supplies of materials from Turkey could push prices higher.
Turkey is the world's second-largest exporter of chromium ore and Eti Krom is the country's largest producer. The company estimates that 40-42 tonnes of Turkish block chromium ore is trading at $310-320 a tonne CIF China today, down from a five-year high of $395-400 a tonne CIF China in June. Most of the country's chrome ore goes to China.
Rescue efforts are underway along the Turkish-Syrian border where more than 22,000 people are now known to have died in the earthquake and
