The Bureau of Mines investigated chromite deposits and occurrences in Alaska between 1979 and 1984 as part of the Bureau's critical and strategic minerals program. Beneficiation and mineralogical characterization tests were performed on 68 samples.

Chromite-bearing ultramafic rocks occur in eight regions in Alaska. One hundred sixty-one subeconomic podiform-type deposits and one placer deposit are estimated to contain 3.4-4.7 million tons of chromic oxide (Cr₂O₃) in high-chromium and high-iron chromite. In most cases, mine-site beneficiation would be required to produce shipping-grade concentrates.

In the Chugach trend, an inferred reserve base comprises 2.8 million tons of Cr₂O₃ in 42 deposits that are all within 10 mi of tidewater or existing transportation routes. Most of these are indicated reserves (1.8 million tons) contained in the newly discovered Turner stringer zone and

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Windy River placer deposit at Red Mountain and inferred reserves at the Halibut Bay complex on Kodiak Island. Seventy less-accessible deposits in the remote western Brooks Range contain between 0.6 and 1.4 million tons of high-chromium chromite. The Rampart, Yukon-Koyukuk, and Alaska Range trends and the southeast Alaska region contain deposits with minor production potential.

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