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ore reserves and was the world’s largest producer of ferrochrome until 2012, when China became the leading ferrochromeproducing country. South Africa’s chrome ore (chromite) supply into the Chinese market has risen significantly from 36% of China’s total chrome ore imports in 2010 to more than 70% in 2016 (Fowkes, 2014; Creamer, 2017). China controls the demand for both ferrochrome and chrome ore from South Africa (Fowkes, 2014). China’s high import rate of chrome ore has resulted in ferrochrome prices being driven down and a depressed ferrochrome market. The South African industry meets the chrome ore demands but loses out on ferrochrome beneficiation. Furthermore, the local ferrochrome industry has been threatened with the overall poor competitiveness over the past few years, resulting in four of the eight producers ceasing operations at the beginning of 2016. Challenges experienced by the producers, some of which are directly linked to production costs, include influences from the market, productivity that was affected by wildcat strikes, China’s control over the demand for both ferrochrome and chrome ore, and electricity supply issues (Fowkes, 2014, 2013; Biermann, Cromarty, and Dawson, 2012). Ferrochrome production is energy-intensive and South African producers have faced higher electricity costs, electricity supply complications, and a weaker currency exchange rate since 2009. Ferrochrome is an iron-chromium alloy that contains between 50% and 70% chromium by weight. Chromium is one of the fundamental metals used in modern steelmaking and superalloys due to its excellent corrosion resistance, and it is regarded as a commodity of critical and strategic importance (Murthy, Tripathy, and Kumar, 2011). China is currently the world’s top producer of ferrochrome, despite its lack of significant chrome resources, as well as the world’s leading stainless steel producer (US Geological Survey, 2017). Global stainless steel production rose by more than 8% in 2016, resulting in an increase in chrome ore and ferrochrome demand (see Figure 1). The year 2016 brought a dramatic change in the local ferrochrome industry. It was marked by idle smelters in the beginning of that year, take-overs in the industry, and chrome ore prices reaching the highest levels since the global economic downturn in the third quarter of 2016. The purpose of this study is to link the value chain and business cycle to the choice of technology acquisition mode (TAM) in the South African ferrochrome industry. Although this area has been studied extensively in the electronics industry, there is a gap in the body of knowledge in the mining industry. Previous research has been fragmented, with only a few parameters being studied at a specific time for Market implications for technology acquisition modes in the South African ferrochrome context