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Samancor Chrome is the largest integrated ferrochrome producer in the world, with annual capacity of 2.4 million tonnes of ferrochrome. Samancor mines chrome ore on the Bushveld Igneous Complex, which holds most of the world’s chrome reserves, and smelts it into ferrochrome, used mainly to make stainless steel. Samancor’s corporate office is in Sandton.
- Registered name
- Samancor Chrome (Pty) Ltd
- Type
- Private company (chrome mining and ferrochrome smelting)
- Fields funded
- Mining, metallurgical, mechanical and electrical engineering, geology and HR management
- Website
- samancorcr.com
From manganese and Amcor to Kermas
Samancor dates back to 1975, when SA Manganese Ltd, formed in 1926 to mine manganese in the Northern Cape, merged with Amcor Ltd, founded in 1937 to supply minerals and ferroalloys to the steel industry. Samancor was listed on the JSE until 1998, when Billiton and Anglo American bought out minority shareholders. In June 2005 BHP Billiton and Anglo American sold the chrome business to the Kermas Group, and Samancor Chrome is now a private company.
Between 2016 and 2017, Samancor Chrome bought smelting and mining assets from the business rescue practitioners of International Ferrometals and ASA Metals, the latter together with Sinosteel.
Mines and smelters
Eastern Chrome Mines, in the Steelpoort valley about 350 kilometres from Johannesburg, has three underground mines, two opencast mines and four beneficiation plants along a 100-kilometre stretch of the Bushveld’s eastern rim. Western Chrome Mines, near Mooinooi in North West, has three underground mines. Samancor’s smelters include Ferrometals in Emalahleni, one of the largest ferrochrome plants in the world, Middelburg Ferrochrome, Tubatse Ferrochrome in Steelpoort, TC Smelters in Mooinooi, Dikwena Chrome near Brits, and Tubatse Alloy near Burgersfort.
The Samancor bursary
Samancor’s Khuphuka Training and Development Centre runs its bursary programme, which funds undergraduate degrees in mining, metallurgical, mechanical and electrical engineering, geology and human resources management, covering tuition, books, accommodation and an allowance, with vacation work. Samancor prefers applicants from communities around its operations, and bursars sign an agreement whose employment terms are not published in detail.
The 2026 round closed on 20 February 2026, while the 2024 round closed in September 2023, so timing varies.
How to research Samancor
Identify the Samancor operation nearest your home and mention it in your application. Contact Khuphuka from October 2026 to confirm the next round and ask about any service obligation.
See the Tharisa bursary for another chrome producer.
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