Chromium is a very hard, brittle, gray metal, which is sometimes
referred to as Siberian red lead. It does not rust easily and becomes shiny and
bright when it is polished. The shiny trim on our automobile bumpers and
door handles is usually electroplated chromium.
Most chromium comes from something called chromite which is
a mixture of chromium , iron, and oxygen. Chromite is a common rather
ordinary black mineral that no one really noticed until more recent times.
Nearly all the world's supply of chromite comes from Zimbabwe, Russia,
Turkey, South Africa, Cuba, and the Philippines.…