- According to education.jlab.org, Chromium was discovered by Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin while experimenting with a material known as Siberian red lead, also known as the mineral crocoite, in 1797. He produced chromium oxide by mixing crocoite with hydrochloric acid. Although he believed a method for isolating chromium didn't yet exist, Vauquelin was pleasantly surprised in 1798 to discover that he was able to obtain metallic chromium by simply heating chromium oxide in a charcoal oven. Today, chromium is primarily obtained by heating the mineral chromite in the presence of aluminum or silicon. Chromium is a blue-white metal that is hard, brittle and very corrosion resistant. Chromium can be polished to form a very shiny surface and is often plated to other metals to form a protective and attractive covering. Chromium is added to steel to harden it and to form stainless steel, a steel alloy that contains at least 10% chromium. Other chromium-steel alloys are used to make armor plate, safes, ball bearings and cutting tools. According to webelements.com, the origin of name: from the Greek word "chroma" meaning "colour", named for the many coloured compounds known for chromium. In the mid 18th century analysis of Siberian "red lead" from Siberia showed that it contained quite a lot of lead, but also a further material.