Lots of turnoil in South Africa these days and ..elections coming up in Dec..

IF things get uglier....the chromite price could be affected.

https://www.biznews.com/sa-investing/2017/05/15/magnus-heystek-invest-offshore/amp/

"So why then this large under-performance?

The first is that mining and mining holding companies make up a great percentage of those companies,  but that uncertainty about mining rights is causing large foreign investors to stay away from this sector.

This was evident in the recent statement by Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye Gold, when he said that his company “would not invest another cent in South Africa” until the government “gets its house in order”.

Froneman made this statement on the 3rd of May in New York when Sibanye received approval for its $2bn takeover of Stillwater Mining, the largest platinum producer in the US.

Quite telling was a quote from a foreign investor who attended the World Economic Forum Africa in Durban last week: “We can choose from over 200 emerging and developing countries to invest in. We heard nothing at the conference to entice us to consider an investment at the present time. SA offers us first world returns with third world risks” (as quoted in the Huffington Post, 4 May 2017).

The third world risks he was referring to was probably the recall (from an international roadshow in Britain and the USA) and overnight firing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister on the night of 31 March 2017 by President Jacob Zuma and his replacement with Malusi Gigaba, a Zuma-acolyte who has had disastrous stints as cabinet minister in two other key departments. One of Gigaba’s first decisions was to appoint Professor Chris Malikane as his economic advisor. Malikane is a well-known Marxist economist at Wits University who openly recommends the nationalisation of banks, mining companies and life insurance companies as part of “radical economic transition”; the new thrust of ANC economic policy......"

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or how about this from 3 days ago affecting Glencore?

https://www.ft.com/content/c2158632-3a29-11e7-ac89-b01cc67cfeec

"The alleged threat to suspend Glencore’s mining licences, which would have forced the closure of 14 coal mines and put 35,000 jobs at risk, risks reviving concerns among international mining investors that South Africa is becoming too unstable politically. The Guptas, who have been accused of using a friendship with Mr Zuma to steer state contracts in favour of their mining-to-media conglomerate, have been at the heart of the factional strife within the ruling African National Congress over the scandal-hit presidency. The party will vote in December to pick a new leader."

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http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/08/30/strategic-chromite-and-the-commodity-super-cycle

Chromium is one of the most vital and indispensable industrial metals for our technology dependent, high standard of living and there is no substitute for its unique metallic properties. It is used for aircraft engines, consumer and health products, auto plating, a variety of stainless steels -- giving them their corrosion resistance -- and many critical military uses.

South Africa was the largest producer in 2012, with about 11 million tonnes, followed by Kazakhstan (4 million tonnes), India (3.2 million tonnes), Turkey (2.2 million tonnes), and Finland (1.3 million tonnes.)

One of the major concerns about chromite is the reliability of the top three producers, which account for almost 80% of world supply. Both South Africa and Kazakhstan have political stability issues, while India is concerned about security of supply for its own industrialization and urbanization, making the high-quality chromite deposits in Ontario enormously attractive, especially for the U.S. military industrial complex.

According to the United States Geological Survey, there have always been enormous government concerns about the availability of this strategic metal "during every national military emergency since World War 1." Chromium ferroalloys were one of the metals held in the National Defense Stockpile, established in 1939, but which have been largely exhausted during the past decade.

The resurgence of China as an industrial/military competitor to the U.S. with its voracious demands for all mineral commodities have caused renewed concerns or mild panic inside some American military circles about the strategic value and timely access to a wide variety of metals, including chromite.