Market volatility has become the norm for the top manganese-producing countries in recent years.
Last year, manganese prices trended downward for much of the year on a growing supply overhang amid weakening demand from the global steel market, especially in China, which is suffering from a property sector slump.
The first quarter of this year was more of the same for the beleaguered manganese market. However, the price of manganese received a big boost as stockpiles began to deplete in Q2 following Tropical Cyclone Megan significantly damaging South32’s (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF) Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) manganese mine in Australia.
Looking forward, analysts are pinning further support for manganese prices on China’s ability to right its economic ship. There’s also much to be said for the potential in battery as a positive force moving into the future as the green energy transition progresses. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence projects that demand for manganese will increase by eight-fold over the next decade on rising demand for electric vehicle batteries.
What are the uses of manganese?
While the steel industry is the primary end user of manganese metal, consuming it as an alloy to enhance the strength and workability of the key construction material, manganese is also mixed with aluminum to manufacture tin cans.
Aside from that crucial application, manganese dioxide and manganese oxide are often used as cathode materials in the production of zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries. Additionally, after crude oil is refined, manganese may be used as an additive to help coat and protect a car’s engine.
And, as mentioned, one of the most promising uses of manganese is in the lithium-ion battery sector. The silvery metal is used to make lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide, which is known to improve energy loading and lifespan. Batteries using this mineral composition are in high demand from the electric vehicle sector.
Manganese production by country
As the manganese market continues to develop, it’s useful to learn about the top manganese countries, including South Africa, Gabon and Australia.
South Africa is particularly notable, as it is the source of 36 percent of the manganese production in the world. Interestingly, South Africa is also home to almost 38 percent of global manganese mineral reserves, although many other countries are significant manganese producers with sizeable reserves.
1. South Africa
Mine production: 7.2 million metric tons
South Africa is the world’s largest producer of manganese in the world by a long shot, with manganese output of 7.2 million metric tons last year, down 100,000 MT compared to 2022. The country also holds the largest reserves of manganese at 600 million metric tons, and 70 percent of the world’s known manganese ore resources.
South32 is a major presence in the South African manganese industry. The diversified miner also produces bauxite, alumina and thermal and metallurgical coal, as well as other in-demand minerals.
The company holds the South Africa Manganese operation in the manganese-rich Kalahari Basin. The operations consist of the open-pit Mamatwan mine, the underground Wessels mine and the Metalloys manganese alloy smelter.
Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) is also operating in the area at its Tshipi Borwa mine. Tshipi Borwa is considered the largest manganese mine in South Africa and the third largest in the world.
2. Gabon
Mine production: 4.6 million metric tons
Located on the central-western coast of Africa, Gabon was the second highest manganese-producing country in 2023. The country produced 4.6 million metric tons of manganese last year, a drop of 70,000 MT compared to 2022.
Moanda is a key manganese operation in the country. ERAMET (EPA:ERA), the world’s second largest miner of high-grade manganese ore, operates the mine through its subsidiary COMILOG. The August 2023 military coup in Gabon temporarily halted manganese-mining activities for ERAMET, but production has since resumed.
3. Australia
Mine production: 3 million metric tons
Australia’s manganese production was also nearly flat in 2023, as the country produced 3 million metric tons of manganese compared to 2022’s 3.04 million MT.
As the largest producer of manganese ore, South32 has a 60 percent stake in the GEMCO manganese operations in the Northern Territory. The open-cut manganese mine is one of the world’s lowest-cost manganese ore producers. Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) holds the other 40 percent interest in GEMCO.
South32 anticipates the damage to its wharf operations brought on by Tropical Cyclone Megan will restrict export sales until at least the first quarter of the 2025 calendar year.
South32 and Anglo American previously owned the Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) alloy smelter, but sold the facility to GFG Alliance in 2021.
4. Ghana
Mine production: 840,000 metric tons
Ghana’s 2023 manganese output weighed in at 840,000 metric tons, on par with what it produced in 2022. Most manganese mined in Ghana comes from the western region around the city of Takoradi.
Consolidated Minerals, better known as Consmin, holds a 90 percent stake in Ghana Manganese Company, which runs the Nsuta mine. Consmin, a subsidiary of Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry (TMI), is one of the four largest producers of manganese in the world by volume.
Manganese ore from the operation was traditionally destined for the electrolytic manganese metal market, much of it as captive supply for TMI’s China-based operations.
TMI has partnered with the Ghanaian government to construct a US$450 million manganese refinery as part of the country’s goal to boost its economy with value-added products like battery-grade manganese and increase revenues from manganese from 27 percent to 40 percent.
5. China
Mine production: 740,000 metric tons
China was the fifth largest producer of manganese in 2023 with 740,000 metric tons of the battery metal, a sizeable decrease from the 1.34 million MT it produced in 2020. Much of this decline can be attributed to COVID-19-related disruptions and more recently production cuts on lower demand from the country’s property sector.
As mentioned, the country is not only a player in manganese ore production, but also a major consumer of manganese as it uses large amounts of the metal in steelmaking.
Several large manganese deposits were reportedly discovered in Guizhou province in 2017, but have yet to be advanced. They are not counted by the US Geological Survey, which places China’s manganese reserves at 280,000 MT — the second largest globally.
6. India
Mine production: 720,000 metric tons
In 2023, India was the sixth largest producer of manganese with 720,000 metric tons, making it another country on this list with flat production levels year-over-year.
As with China and Brazil, India is one of the leaders in manganese consumption. The vast majority of India’s manganese goes to the production of steel. State-owned MOIL is India’s largest manganese producer and controls the country’s only electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) manufacturing plant. In 2023, the company posted all-time high record EMD production.
7. Brazil
Mine production: 620,000 metric tons
Brazil produced 620,000 metric tons of manganese in 2023, just 4,000 MT lower than its output in 2022. Major miner Vale (NYSE:VALE) was previously the largest manganese miner in the country, accounting for 70 percent of the market. However, in 2022 the company offloaded its Center-West manganese and iron ore assets in Brazil to J&F Investimentos, whose subsidiary Lhg Mining now operates them.
In the first half of 2023, Lhg announced plans to resume manganese operations in Brazil and expanding the workforce. In October last year, J&F shared plans in its budget to invest US$1 billion in the iron and manganese operations.
Buritirama Mining, a subsidiary of Grupo Buritipar, is another large manganese producer in Brazil. The company plans to make a significant investment of US$200 million to expand operations at its Para state mine.
8. Côte d’Ivoire
Mine production: 390,000 metric tons
The West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire put out 390,000 metric tons of manganese in 2023; that’s nearly on par with the 394,000 MT in the year prior. However, the 2023 figure is down significantly from the 525,000 MT produced in 2020.
Côte d’Ivoire’s manganese exports make their way to steel-producing giant China. In January 2024, Reuters reported that with investments from the China National Geological and Mining Corporation, the country plans to boost its manganese production to around 1 million metric tons of ore within three years.
9. Ukraine
Mine production: 320,000 metric tons
Ukraine is the world’s ninth largest producer of manganese with 320,000 metric tons. The country’s 2023 output was down by 3,000 MT compared to 2022’s numbers.
‘Two manganese ore producers in Ukraine suspended operations (in 2023),’ the USGS reported. ‘One of them suspended operations owing to rising operational costs, whereas the other suspended operations owing to Russian shelling that endangered operations.’
As with some of the other countries on the list, Ukraine is also a major importer of manganese products, specifically manganese ore.
The country is among the top five for largest reserves of manganese ore in the world, at 140 million MT. The country’s Nikopol basin holds about a third of the explored reserves. Ukraine also has significant iron ore, coal and titanium deposits.
10. Malaysia
Mine production: 250,000 metric tons
Malaysia rounds out the list of top manganese-producing countries with output of 250,000 metric tons of manganese in 2023, a small increase from the 247,000 MT produced in the previous year. The country recently emerged on the scene as a new hub for manganese ferroalloy production.
Malaysia’s manganese production accounts for 20 percent of US imports, as per the USGS. OM Sarawak, a subsidiary of Singapore-based manganese and silicon metals company OM Holdings (ASX:OMH,OTCQX:OMHI), owns a ferrosilicon and manganese alloy smelter in Malaysia. The smelting complex produced 294,432 metric tons of manganese alloy in 2023.
Potential manganese deposits
There are a number of mining companies interested in developing manganese resources, and others working in exploration to target new deposits. Mining for manganese is one way to recover the metal, and scouring the seafloor is another way to source this valuable construction and battery metal.
According to the London School of Economics, manganese nodules cover thousands of square kilometers on the ocean floor. The metal-bearing nodules are primarily composed of manganese; however, they also contain nickel, cobalt and copper, making them a potentially lucrative diversified mineral resource.
FAQs for manganese
Is manganese a metal?
Manganese is considered an important industrial metal. With the atomic number 25, it is a hard, brittle, silvery metal that is only second to iron among the transition elements in its abundance in Earth’s crust.
What function does manganese dioxide have in batteries?
Manganese dioxide has long been used as a depolarizer in alkaline batteries, but this is not the manganese battery market that is now the most interesting. Attention is being drawn to lithium-ion battery chemistries that require manganese — such as lithium-manganese oxide batteries and lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide batteries.
In these batteries, electrolytic manganese dioxide is used as a cathode material. Investors who believe battery sector demand for manganese will increase are optimistic that lithium-ion batteries that require manganese will become more common in the future.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.