Geological Background, Metallogenic Characteristics and Ore Genesis of the KempirsayChromite Resource Base in the Ural, Kazakhstan

China ranks at the top in chromium consumption and stainless steel production, yet due to the limited domestic reserve and mine production of chromite ore, the current supply of chromium relies on the main imports from South Africa. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has a leading position in chromite reserves and mining, mainly from the Kempirsay chromite resource base. On account of the above, this contribution provides an exhaustive summary of the geological background, ophiolites, metallogenic characteristics, the deposit’s genetic types, and the development status of the resource base. The Kempirsay chromite resource base is tectonically located in the Kempirsay massif of southern Urals. Many ophiolites were produced and preserved in the Ural orogenic belt during the opening and closure of the Ural paleo–ocean in the Cambrian to Triassic and host a series of podiform chromite deposits. The Harzburgites and dunites dominate the mantle peridotites, which are outcropped in a complete ophiolite sequence of the Kempirsay massif. Two kinds of chromitite have been found: the high–Al type in the Early Devonian (or earlier) MOR setting and the high–Cr type in the Late Devonian Supra–subduction zone(SSZ). The latter chromitite was formed in the reaction between the melt derived from residual mantle peridotites metasomatized by subduction fluids with depleted mantle during the intra–ocean subduction process. The estimated chromite reserve of the Kempirsay resource base is approximately 300 million tons, forming an annual chromite ore production of 7 million tons. Over half of the 1.69 million tons of ferrochrome production is exported to China. In summary, the Kempirsay chromite resource base in the Ural of Kazakhstan has favorable metallogenetic conditions and progressive mining activities. Thus, China should endeavor to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan in the potential resource investigation, exploration, mining of chromite resources, and related industry capacity.