African Partner is actively involved in the sourcing of raw materials from Africa. Currently supply iron ore, pig iron, coke, coal, ferro alloys and steel scrap to buyers throughout the world. Details of each of these products can be found here.

Much of our raw material trading involves the use of sophisticated financing techniques including counter trade arrangements, tolling and barter settlements. We would be delighted to supply your raw material needs. Please do get in touch..

Iron ore has historically been traded in lump form. More recently, however, it has been traded in pellet form.
Traditionally both Coke and Coal are traded internationally in bulk.
As part of the steel production process, Ferro Alloys are added to the usual mix of raw materials to alter the chemistry as required for certain end uses. Ferro alloy trading is very much a function of specific mill demands depending on their finished product mix.
African Partner trades Scrap in a number of forms including loose heavy melt, shredded and bundled. Traditionally scrap for use in steel making is sourced from the United States, Western Europe and CIS. We have some trade flows in scrap to end-users that involve purchase, control, freighting and financial assistance.
Pig iron is sold to both the steel making and foundry industries. African Partner has experience in supplying both industries from a range of sources including China, India and the CIS.

We would be delighted to learn of your requirements

South Africa / Africa Raw Materials

South Africa has the world's largest known deposits of chromium, manganese, and vanadium, as well as significant deposits of iron ore, antimony, copper, nickel, lead, titanium, fluorspar, zinc, and zirconium. Most of these metals are exported unprocessed, with the exception of iron ore, which is also used in the local steel industry.

South Africa's chromium deposits contain about 72 percent of the world's reserves, most of it in the Bushveld complex of minerals. About one-third of chromium produced is exported, much of it to the United States and Japan.

South Africa contains the largest known deposits of manganese ore in the world. Its reserves of at least 12.5 billion tons, mostly in the Northern Cape mineral complex, constitute 75 percent of the world total. Manganese is essential in the manufacture of iron and steel, and more than 90 percent of South Africa's manganese is used for this purpose.

South Africa produces between 25,000 tons and 30,000 tons of vanadium a year, almost 45 percent of the world's supply. Its estimated 5.4 million tons constitute one-third of world reserves. Vanadium is used in manufacturing steel, to provide tensile and torsional strength and resistance to abrasion.

South Africa has only about 2 percent of the world's known copper reserves, with the largest deposits in the Transvaal complex in the northeast. Copper is also mined in the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. South Africa is the largest producer of iron ore on the continent, with reserves estimated at more than 9.4 billion tons. Iron is mined in the Northern Cape, the Bushveld, and the Transvaal complexes, and in KwaZulu-Natal. More than 29.3 million tons of iron ore, roughly 3 percent of world output, are produced and almost half of that amount was used in the steel industry.

Africa (excluding South Africa) has iron ore reserve estimated at over 34 billion tons (or some 15 percent of the world’s total), with 11 countries having reserve greater than one billion tons. The ore is distributed with 20.4 percent in Northern Africa, 40% in Western Africa, 24.5% in Central Africa and 15.1% in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The largest reserve occurs in the following areas:
Kilomoto hematite deposit in Democratic Republic of Congo (5 billion tons)
Manesi range low-grade deposit in Zimbabwe (3.3 billion tons)
Gora Djebilet deposit in Algeria (3.025 billion tons)

Other large deposits occur in Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Libyan Arab jamahiriya, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Despite Africa’s extensive resource base, only a few deposits are being commercially exploited. Thus only Algeria, Egypt, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe rank among the world’s iron ore producers.

Most of Africa’s iron ore resources remain largely undeveloped owing to such constraints as non-availability of the necessary investment resources from both domestic and international sources, the general sluggishness of the world iron ore market, the relative inaccessibility of many reserves (necessitating large investment in transportation and other infrastructures), and civil and political strifes that hamper development. Liberia, Mauritania and Algeria are the only African exporters of iron ore.