The individual chromite grains from both occurrences probably have the same chemical composition as those at Eagle Two, namely 59.1% Cr2O3 as determined by Prof Mungall at the latter. The market and price for "bulk" chromite concentrates depends on the Cr2O3 content of the concentrate....refractory, chemical or metallurgical grade. The highest prices are I believe for the latter, which is about US$300/tonne. I think that the Eagle Two chromite might meet this spec. Metallurgical grade chromite is used for the production of ferrochrome for the manufacture of steel.

The reference to "upgrading" can mean either mean producing a 100% chromite concentrate or perhaps the modification of the composition of the individual chromite grains through thermal treatment under different oxidizing conditions. One must remember that even if the intersections are visually classified as "massive" it does not necessarily imply that the intersections represent 100% chromite. In fact, if one looks at the "bulk" assay for the intersections of some 39.1% Cr2O3, you realize that there must be other minerals present besides the chromite, probably somewhere around 34% on average of the total weight of the intersection. If the other minerals are silicates, then application of a simple gravity or magnetic separation technology, should be able to produce a fairly pure chromite bulk concentrate for the metallurgical market.

Respectfullly submitted

geoprof