India: Silico manganese export prices rise to 7-month high in recent deals

• Tight supply persists as smelters booked till Apr
• Export tags may rise on imported ore scarcity

Indian silico manganese export prices edged up w-o-w following limited material availability and the market’s acceptance of higher offers. Additionally, strong demand in the overseas market contributed to the uptrend in recent deals.

BigMint’s assessment on 17 February 2025 placed export prices of the 65-16 grade at $974/tonne (t) FOB, a $13/t increase w-o-w. Prices stood at a seven-month high, comparable to the values prevailing in mid July 2024. Parallelly, the 60-14 variant saw an increase of $13/t w-o-w to $875/t FOB.

Confirmed deals ( as per BigMint)

Factors supporting prices

Smelters booked till mid-Apr, supply shortage continues: With most smelters booked till end-March and some even till mid-April, the silico manganese market continued to face a supply shortfall this week. This situation led importers to accept high offers for Indian material. Deals for 600-700 t were recently concluded at $980/t FOB Vizag, setting a standard for the market and supporting India’s export prices.

Imported ore tags move up, lifting raw material costs: Another factor contributing to the supply shortfall was rising raw material costs, stemming from higher imported ore prices. To illustrate, a key manganese ore miner from Gabon set export offers at around $5.5/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) for the 44% grade compared to $4.87/dmtu in the previous week, according to sources. Tags increased by $0.63/dmtu w-o-w.

Global ore prices hit 4-month high on limited supply: Global manganese ore prices edged up this week, to a four-month high last seen in October 2024. This uptick is primarily attributed to declining port inventories and limited supplies from miners, which have tightened the market.

For example, Australian high-grade (46% Mn) ore increased by $0.05/dmtu w-o-w to $5.21/dmtu due to supply constraints. Prices of Gabonese high-grade (44% Mn) ore edged up by $0.04/dmtu w-o-w to $4.87/dmtu, reflecting rising production and handling costs, along with ongoing rail maintenance impacting supply. South African lumps (37% Mn) rose slightly by $0.07/dmtu w-o-w to $4.64/dmtu.

Outlook

India’s silico manganese export prices are expected to remain strong due to high imported manganese ore prices. However, demand fluctuations could impact prices in the near term.