China: Manganese ore prices keep stable amid wait-and-see sentiment

• Manganese ore prices hold steady nationwide
• Rising port stocks pressure market outlook

Mysteel Global: China’s manganese ore prices kept stable during 22-28 October 2025, with the price of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade manganese ore at North China’s Tianjin port under Mysteel’s assessment standing at Yuan 34/dmtu ($4.8/dmtu) including the 13% VAT on October 28, the same level from one week earlier.

Market participants mainly chose to stay on the sidelines, waiting for the next round of offers from major overseas mines, Mysteel Global learned. Some domestic traders have resisted selling manganese ore at lower prices recently, as shipments of this ore to China may decrease in November due to reduced supply from overseas mines.

However, manganese alloy smelters in southern China may slow their smelting pace in November because of higher electricity costs following the end of the wet season, which could limit their consumption of manganese ore accordingly.

In parallel, China’s silicomanganese prices remained rangebound in both physical and futures markets, hindering further recovery in domestic manganese ore prices, Mysteel Global noted.

As of October 28, the national price of 6517 silico manganese was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 5,642/t including the 13% VAT, inching up by Yuan 7/t on week, but it dipped by Yuan 4/t from the previous day.

The same day, the most-traded silico manganese contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange for next January delivery closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 5,736/t, higher by Yuan 36/t from the settlement price a week ago despite an on-day dip, according to the exchange’s data.

While the volume of manganese ore delivered to China declined last week, stockpiles of this ore at China’s major ports moved higher, putting some pressure on domestic manganese ore prices.

Mysteel’s latest weekly survey showed that total arrivals of manganese ore from four major exporting countries – South Africa, Australia, Gabon and Ghana – registered 518,200 tonnes over October 17-23, falling by 15% from the previous week.

As of October 23, inventories of manganese ore piled at China’s major ports monitored by Mysteel reached 4.43 million tonnes, rising by 63,000 tonnes on week.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.