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Top 10 Manganese-producing Countries
Manganese is an important metal for steel production. What are the top manganese-producing countries?
![manganese with globe](https://investingnews.com/media-library/manganese-with-globe.jpg?id=33557383&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&coordinates=0%2C1%2C0%2C0)
Market volatility has become the norm for the top manganese-producing countries in recent years.
Lat 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 half of 2024 was more of the same for the beleaguered manganese market. However, the price of manganese received a big boost in early June following the significant damage to South32's (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF) Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) manganese mine in Australia caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan.
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.
As the manganese market continues to develop, it’s useful to know where the metal comes from. Interestingly, almost 38 percent of global manganese mineral reserves are found in South Africa, though many other countries are significant manganese producers with sizeable reserves. The country is the source of 36 percent of the manganese production in the world.
Below the Investing News Network has compiled a brief overview of the 10 top manganese-producing countries in 2023. All stats on manganese production by country are taken from the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) most recent report on the metal.
1. South Africa
Mine production: 7.2 million MT
South Africa is the world’s largest producer of manganese in the world by a long shot. In 2023, its manganese output was nearly on par with the previous year. The country also holds the largest reserves of manganese at 600 million metric tons (MT), and accounts for 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 country and the third largest in the world.
2. Gabon
Mine production: 4.6 million MT
Located on the central-western coast of Africa, Gabon was the second top manganese producing countries in 2023. The manganese-producing country was responsible for 4.6 million MT of manganese, nearly the same as the previous year.
Moanda is a key manganese operation in the country. ERAMET (EPA:ERA), the world’s second top producer 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 MT
Australia’s manganese production was also nearly flat in 2023 compared to the previous year's 3.04 million MT. Though South32 is a key producer in the South African manganese sector, the company also has an Australian manganese operation.
As the largest producer of manganese ore, South32 has a 60 percent stake in a Northern Territory manganese mine, which it operates through its subsidiary GEMCO. 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 the project. South32 anticipates the damage to its wharf operations brought on by the tropical cyclone will restrict export salesexport sales until at least the third quarter of the firm's 2025 fiscal year.
In addition to GEMCO, the miner operates Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO), as well as the TEMCO manganese alloy plant, which produces ferromanganese used for steel manufacturing.
4. Ghana
Mine production: 840,000 MT
Ghana’s 2023 manganese output weighed in at 840,000 MT, on par with what it produced in 2022. However, the country has stepped up its production of the metal in recent years, raising it from 2020's number of 637,000 MT. Most manganese mined in Ghana comes from the western region around the city of Takoradi.
Consolidated Minerals, better known as Consmin, a subsidiary of Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry (TMI), is one of the four largest producers of manganese in the world by volume and holds a 90 percent stake in Ghana Manganese Company, which runs the Nsuta mine. 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 MT
China was the fifth largest producer of manganese in 2023; that’s 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 MT
In 2023, India was the sixth largest producer of manganese, and another country on this list with flat production levels year-over-year. The top manganese-producing country produced 720,000 MT of the metal last 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 MT
Brazil produced 620,000 MT 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 manganese and iron ore assets in Brazil to J&F Investimentos.
Now Buritirama Mining, a subsidiary of Grupo Buritipar, is the country's largest manganese producer. The company plans to make a significant investment of US$200 million to expand operations at its Para state mine.
8. Cote d’Ivoire
Mine production: 390,000 MT
The West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire put out 390,000 MT 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.
Cote 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 tonnes of ore within three years.
9. Ukraine
Mine production: 320,000 MT
Ukraine is the world's ninth largest producer of manganese. The country's 2023 output was down by 3,000 MT of the metal from 2022’s numbers. Russia's war in Ukraine has no doubt had a negative impact. Last year, "[t]wo manganese ore producers in Ukraine suspended operations. One of them suspended operations owing to rising operational costs, whereas the other suspended operations owing to Russian shelling that endangered operations," reported USGS.
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 MT
Malaysia rounds out the list of top manganese-producing countries, with output out 250,000 MT of manganese in 2023; that's a small increase from 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 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. It has an output capacity of around 250,000 to 300,000 MT of manganese alloy per year.
Potential manganese deposits
There are a number of mining companies interested in the 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.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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Melissa Pistilli has been reporting on the markets and educating investors since 2006. She has covered a wide variety of industries in the investment space including mining, cannabis, tech and pharmaceuticals. She helps to educate investors about opportunities in a variety of growth markets. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in English education as well as a master's degree in the teaching of writing, both from Humboldt State University, California.
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Melissa Pistilli has been reporting on the markets and educating investors since 2006. She has covered a wide variety of industries in the investment space including mining, cannabis, tech and pharmaceuticals. She helps to educate investors about opportunities in a variety of growth markets. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in English education as well as a master's degree in the teaching of writing, both from Humboldt State University, California.
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