Indian Manganese Ore E-auction fetches Poor Response

Recent E-auction conducted by MSTC on behalf of miners based in Karnataka, only 15% of Mn ore received bids

Demand for Manganese ore is very low in line with the collapsed market for Manganese alloy, with lesser interest in procuring the raw material.

India’s state-owned trading company MSTC, which had conducted the e-auction of Manganese ore in Karnataka on 10 Feb’15, has fetched a mere total of 3 bids with only two producers from Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka being awarded the material.

There was no increase in bids over floor value compared with 2.38% in the previous held e-auction on 19 Dec, 2014. About 13,392 MT of Manganese ore was put on auction, of which the bid quantity was only 1,984 MT.

The Manganese (Mn) content of the material offered ranges from 27-31% and Iron (Fe) content was in the range of 24-30%, according to information on MSTC’s website. For, Mn – 31%; Fe – 24 to 26%, H1 (winning bids) was awarded at the same price as the floor price of INR 5,000/MT (USD 2.59 /dmtu) including royalty and FDT.

Silico manganese prices have corrected by over INR 2,000 /MT M-o-M, which has made manufacturers cautious on taking positions. Silico manganese prices for week 8 (16-22 Feb’15) were assessed at around INR 47,000/MT ex-Raipur and INR 48,000/MT ex-Durgapur.

Prices incld royalty
Exchange Rate: USD 1 = INR 62.19