At the production of steel via the electric arc furnace route there is an outcome of 15 kg to 25 kg dust per ton of steel. A lot of valuable metals, mostly in oxidized state, are in this dust, and therefore the recycling of those residues is necessary due to the ecological and economical point of view. The present work investigates the effects of chromium oxide and zinc oxide on the properties of the dust. Also an overview of dust particle generation and the present status of recovery and recycling technologies is given. Investigations of the different influence parameters by synthesized dust-mixtures in a ternary system of Fe2O3-ZnO-Cr2O3 and the characterisation of the softening point, the flow point and the melting point by using a heating microscope with variable atmospheres were done. The morphology of the phases was investigated by a scanning electron microscope, while the phase metamorphosis and the masschange were studied by means of the thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis. Important parameters are also the particle size and the amount and the basicity of the slag. The obtained data are very important for the optimization of recycling systems and simulation models.