Manganese

Manganese is a hard, brittle metal primarily used in steel production to improve strength and durability. It is found in large quantities in manganese ore and is produced mainly in South Africa, China, India, Ukraine and Australia. Manganese is essential in steelmaking, batteries, and chemical production, where it serves as a key alloying element.

Sub-Category	Abbreviation	Core Content Range	Size Range
Ferromanganese Briquettes	FeMn briq	Various	n/a
Ferromanganese Cupola Briquettes	FeMn briq	Various	n/a
High Carbon Ferromanganese	HCFeMn	Mn 65-80%	0-250 mm
Low Carbon Ferromanganese	LCFeMn	Mn 70-100%	5-150 mm
Manganese Metal Briquettes	Mn Met Briq	Mn 88-100%	15-100 mm
Manganese Metal Flakes	Mn Flakes	Mn 90-100%	0-200 mm
Manganese Metal Lump	Mn Met Lump	Mn 44-100%	0-100 mm
Medium Carbon Ferromanganese	MCFeMn	Mn 70-100%	0-150 mm
Silicomanganese	SiMn	Mn 20-100%	0-250 mm
Ultra Low Phosphorus Carbon Ferromanganese	ULPC FeMn	Various	n/a

Please note that the above listed sub-categories including its core content and size ranges are just a snapshot of Metalshub’s currently traded raw materials. We are adding new sub-categories on a monthly basis and would be happy to assess your specific requirements to this category.

Metalshub provides producers and consumers of manganese with a software solution to improve the way they buy or sell it. Our software connects over 2,000 companies in a joint trading network. This allows sellers to discover new buyers of manganese and buyers to discover new suppliers of manganese.

For buyers, Metalshub’s Procurement Solution allows steel mills, battery cell manufacturers, and other consumers to digitalise their procurement process in order to increase sourcing efficiency, ensure compliant buying, and take data-driven decisions. For sellers, Metalshub’s Sales Solution allows miners, producers, traders, and other sellers to digitalise their sales process, manage inventory, and optimise their sales book.

Prices for manganese are provided by several key platforms:

1. Fastmarkets: Fastmarkets provides journalistic price data for various forms of manganese, including manganese ore, manganese alloys, and electrolytic manganese​ (Fastmarkets)​.
2. Argus Media: Argus tracks journalistic manganese prices, covering ferro-manganese, electrolytic manganese, and other forms used in steel production and battery materials ​(Argus Media).
3. Metis: For high and medium carbon ferromanganese, silicomanganese as well as manganese metal flakes, robust transaction-based price data is made available by Metis. The prices are adjusted considering FCA warehouse in a major European sea port and prepayment (Metis).

Beyond these three examples, other providers may also provide prices.

The key manganese-producing countries are:

• South Africa – ~30% of global manganese production
• China – ~20% of global manganese production
• Australia – ~15% of global manganese production
• Gabon – ~10% of global manganese production
• Brazil – ~<10% of global manganese production

Some of the key producers of manganese include:

• South32 (Australia) – ~30% of global manganese production, a leading supplier of ferromanganese
• Eramet (France) – ~15%, producing manganese alloys and electrolytic manganese
• Vale (Brazil) – ~10%, involved in manganese mining and alloy production
• OM Holdings (Singapore) – ~<10%, a major player in manganese ore and alloys
• Tianyuan Manganese (China) – ~<10%, specialising in electrolytic manganese metal

Manganese is mined from large open-pit or underground mines. The ore is crushed and processed to extract manganese concentrates, which are then smelted to produce ferromanganese or refined into electrolytic manganese metal.

Manganese is predominantly used in steelmaking (~90%), where it strengthens and hardens steel. It is also used in batteries (~5%), particularly in lithium-ion and alkaline batteries. Additionally, manganese is used in chemical production (~3%) for various industrial applications.