from yesterday's news:

https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2019/06/05/us-commerce-department-offers-solution-for-obtaining-minerals-critical-to-the-military/

The report also notes that the U.S. is import-reliant on 31 of the 35 minerals designated as critical by the Department of the Interior

A report by the U.S. Commerce Department recommends the government strengthen relations with foreign companies that provide minerals critical to military development

The report also recommends the U.S. expand public-private partnerships to spur investment from industry, and that the country focus on expanding domestic production of critical minerals to break its import reliance.

===========================================================

chromium is import reliant on the list of the 35 critical minerals

Here is the most recent report from March 2019

https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/atoms/files/mis-201903-chrom.pdf

if Trump is serious about spending 1.5 trillion in infrastructure ...then the import reliance for chrome has to be dealt with.

The most interesting to me regarding Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) ..was there recent 

rejection letter....SIX weeks ago..

https://ir.atimetals.com/tools/viewpdf.aspx?page={B0F192E9-3218-473A-8A34-6BD06228E316}

04/24/19 ATI Flat Rolled Products maintains commitment to sustained profitability

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: ATI) today learned that the A&T Stainless joint venture’s previously filed Section 232 tariff exclusion request has been denied by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The joint venture (JV) imports semi-finished stainless slab products from Indonesia to produce 60-inch wide stainless sheet products for sale in North America.

These slabs will continue to be subject to the 25% tariff levied on all stainless steel products imported into the United States. “While we are disappointed that the U.S. Department of Commerce denied the JV’s Section 232 tariff exclusion request, it does not change our strategy of returning ATI’s Flat Roll Products segment to sustained profitability,” said Robert S. Wetherbee, ATI President and CEO.

“Although we believe the unique status of the North American stainless steel industry warranted approval of our exclusion, we are committed to meeting our customers’ needs and delivering value to our shareholders. We will work with our joint venture partner to determine our next steps.” 

==========================================================

Also interesting from the USA March 2019 Chrome report is the reminder of  ATI's relationship with..Baosteel (a noront shareholder)

Notice this in the march report?

Shanghai STAL Precision Stainless Steel Co. Ltd. (STAL), a joint venture between Allegheny Technologies Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) and China Baowu Steel Group Corp., Ltd. (China), commissioned a third cold rolling mill located in the Xin-Zhuang Industrial Zone of Shanghai. The improvements would increase STAL’s capacity by 65% and include a new bright annealing line (Allegheny Technologies Inc., 2019). 

https://ir.atimetals.com/news-and-events/news-releases/2019/03-14-2019-114454415

With this denial of tariff exemption  by the USA dept of commerce for the Indonesian gig

and given that China is very very reliant on Chrome from South Africa for this ATI/Baosteel venture

And given that the new leader in South Africa wants to make South africa Great again..

And given that Eskom the electricity supplier in south Africa is looking very very shaky...

And you have to love this part in today's article below :

"Eskom has more than $30bn in debt and is believed to be the biggest threat to the economy, according to Goldman Sachs"

Looks like the USA gov't and companies like ATI need to stop relying so much on south Africa for Chrome and strike a deal with Canada.

news today from south Africa..

https://www.biznews.com/global-investing/2019/06/06/eskom-ramaphosa-khula-sizwe

South Africans are reeling from the news that the economy shrunk in the first quarter of this year. Analysts have blamed Eskom power cuts for hammering manufacturing, mining and agricultural output

• “Eskom has a grip on the South African economy that is unlikely to be seen anywhere else in the world…Eskom powers all tiers of the economy…and so when it cannot supply electricity, all sectors suffer,” he said. Gross Domestic Product slumped an annualised 3.2% in the first three months of this year after expanding by 1.4% in the last three months of 2018.

• Eskom has more than $30bn in debt and is believed to be the biggest threat to the economy, according to Goldman Sachs, but it isn’t the only state-owned enterprise dragging down the South African economy. At least seven state companies are, as public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan put it in February, “either on their knees or touching carpet”. This is a major challenge for the new government, and so far there are no great ideas on how to fix the problems. As BizNews reports, South Africa’s Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago says the bank won’t bail out any of the companies, not even Eskom – because doing so will fuel inflation.