Al Tamman Indsil Ferrochrome’s production facilities located at Sohar Free Zone is ideally positioned to showcase the capability of Oman as a leading supplier of Ferrochrome

Al Tamman Indsil Ferrochrome (ATIFC) is the Sultanate of Oman’s first ferrochrome smelter. The production facilities are located at Sohar Free Zone in proximity to Port Sohar. Oman is a major exporter of Chromite Ore, accounting for 10 per cent of the total world production of this mineral. Abundant mid-grade Chromite Ore deposits, coupled with consistent supply of electrical energy from Oman grid and proximity to Port Sohar makes this venture ideally positioned to showcase the capability of Oman as a leading supplier of Ferrochrome.

The production facilities are spread over an area of 150,000 sqm in Sohar Free Zone and comprises of the following infrastructure:

Submerged Arc Furnaces of 24 MVA capacity each – 2Nos.

Gas Cleaning plant of 240,000 cu m capacity each for treating flue gases- 2 nos.

Material handling system of 50 tph capacity each for raw materials. 2Nos.

Briquetting plant of 30 tph capacity for producing Chrome Ore briquettes

Product handling system with capacity to handle 200 tpd of crushing, screening and packing of finished product.

Crushing and Jigging facilities of 30 tph capacity for separation of metal from the slag.

Ferrochrome is produced using submerged arc furnaces. ATIFC’s plant consists of two submerged arc furnaces, each of 24 MVA rating. The technology of the furnaces is modular in design, most modern, resulting in longer uptime of furnaces, hence optimising the furnace operation and efficiency.

Chromite lump ore, Chrome ore Briquettes, coke, quartz are mixed in a pre-calculated proportion. The material mix is fed into the furnaces .The ferrochrome alloy is produced via reduction of Chromite ore to an alloy of chrome and iron.

The casted alloy from the furnaces is crushed and screened to different sizes according to customer specification. This alloy is then transported to the nearest Sohar Port for export to stainless steel producers around the world.

Ferrochrome is an alloy of chromium and iron containing 50-70 per cent chromium by weight and is produced through a carbothermic reduction process taking place at high temperatures (2,800 deg Celsius) where chrome ore is reduced to form Ferrochrome alloy by smelting in electric arc furnaces using coke as reducing agent. Ferrochrome is used as a raw material for manufacturing stainless steel with 77 per cent of annual production of Ferrochrome being consumed by stainless steel manufacturers across the world.

Typically ferrochrome makes up 16-18 per cent of the chemical composition of stainless steel and provides corrosion resistance and shiny appearance properties to stainless steel.

Ferrochrome is also used in other ferrous materials such as carbon steels, alloy steels, bearing and high speed steels, high strength low-alloy steels and tool steels, and in some cast irons, super alloys and welding materials.