The chromite deposits in the region surrounding the Gulf of Alexandretta have been worked in a small way both by Turks and foreigners. Among operators in the region are mentioned Durian Effendi, a Turk, representing the Ottoman Bank; Husni Herikizadeh Effendi, a Turk of Adana; Nader Brothers, of Mersina; Alfred Keun & Co. of Smyrna; Protopazzi Brothers, of Smyrna, and Mavrommati & Sons, of Mersina, both probably Greek firms; Loizides, of Mersina; and Hadji Kemal Bey, of Constantinople. Durian Effendi is mentioned also as having operated chromite mines near Beirut.
The most important chromite deposits of India are in the northern part of Baluchistan, but the mines of the Madras and Mysore districts in southern India have also furnished important amounts of ore. A small production has come from Bengal. The deposits of Baluchistan are large and the ore is rich, much of it averaging nearly 55 per cent. chromic oxide. One deposit is reported to be 440 feet long by 5 feet wide. The ore bodies are segregations in serpentine. The problem of transportation is difficult, as the ores are far from the coast and land transportation facilities are poor. Nevertheless, those mines have made a steady output since they were opened in 1903. The largest production was in 1907, when the yield exceeded 7,000 tons. Since then there has been a decrease owing to competition from New Caledonia and Rhodesia.
Chromite ore bodies were exploited in Madras as early as 1861 and small amounts of ore were mined intermittently. The ores are associated with magnesite veins in serpentine. Since 1907 a steady production is recorded from Madras, which has increased recently. Important deposits of chromite are found in Mysore. These deposits have produced more than 2,000 tons of ore annually in recent years, which is reported to have been sent to the United States. The chromite deposits of Bengal are said to be small and unimportant. In Bombay a large body of low-grade chromite is said to measure 1,000 by 300 feet and to average 34 per cent. chromic oxide.
Before 1910 chromite mining in Japan was sporadic and unimportant, but since 1910 the output has been steady and increasing. The principal occurrences of chrome ore are in the southwestern part, the mines of Wakamatsu, in Hoki, being the most important. The ore is said to average about 40 per cent. chromic oxide. Chromite is also reported to occur in the northern part of Japan. The Japanese chromite deposits are small and soon exhausted.
The principal chromite deposits of Russia are in the southern part of the Ural Mountains and are associated with serpentine and soapstone. The deposits are classed under three heads: Large granular masses in serpentine, finely disseminated chromite in serpentine, and chromite sand in platinum- and gold-bearing placers. The characteristic occurrence of chromite bodies in the Urals is as segregations within areas of dunite largely altered to serpentine. Platinum in scattered grains is associated with chromite in the dunite in several places. Recently chromite deposits have been reported in the northern part of the Caucasus Mountains.
Europe.
—The chromite deposits of the Balkan Peninsula may be grouped into four main districts: central Serbia; southern Serbia; Saloniki, in eastern Macedonia; and Magnesia, southern Thessaly, and the neighboring islands. The chromite deposits are found in serpentine derived from the alteration of peridotite.
The chromite mines of Serbia and Macedonia for many years furnished a small production, credited to European Turkey, which before the last Balkan War embraced all the chromite-bearing areas. Many of the deposits of central Serbia are poorly situated with reference to transportation, the ore being hauled on carts to the railroad stations and thence by rail to the coast. In eastern Macedonia some of the mines are relatively near the coast and the ore is carried on carts to Saloniki. The mines of Serbia and Macedonia were worked in part by individuals and in part by the same firms which mined the chrome ores of Asia Minor, such as Patterson & Co., Whittal & Co., and others.
The chromite mines of Magnesia, Thessaly, and adjacent islands in eastern Greece have furnished a more or less continuous output for the last 30 or 40 years. The ore mined, however, has been mainly of low grade, most of it averaging between 30 and 40 per cent. chromic oxide. It is said to be used largely for refractory purposes. Before 1908 most of the Grecian production of chromite came from the mines of Magnesia, but more recently the mines of southern Thessaly have furnished most of the ore. Mines in the Grecian Archipelago have also furnished some ore. The annual output of Greece has varied from a few hundred tons to more than 15,000 tons. During the past 20 years it has rarely fallen below 5,000 tons.
Chromiferous iron ore in considerable quantity is mined in Greece, most of it being exported. In 1913 ten or more mines were worked. The production has averaged more than 100,000 tons annually. The mines are operated in part by Greek and in part by French and British firms.