India imported around 0.15 MnT of Manganese Ore in Mar’17 against 0.16 MnT in Feb’17. There has been an marginal decrease of around 10% M-o-M in Indian Manganese Ore imports in Mar’17.
Moreover, on Y-o-Y basis, there has been a decrease of 11% in Manganese Ore imports by India. In FY17, India imported 1.8 MnT Manganese Ore against 2.02 MnT in FY16.
India had imported a total of 1.70 MnT manganese ore in CY16. However, while comparing the numbers of Q4FY16 to Q4FY17, there is a substantial increase of 26% in manganese ore imports by India.
Manganese Ore Scenario in India
India is highly dependent on imported Manganese ore. Almost 50% of the total ore requirement is imported, out of which 60% is from South Africa.
India’s Manganese ore production is around 3 MnT against an annual requirement of around 4.8 MnT. About 50% of Mn ore produced in India is low grade i.e. 25-35% Mn content, which is suitable for producing Silico Manganese.
MOIL remains the largest producer and contributes about 50% of India’s total production. Indian Manganese alloys manufacturers have to depend on imports for high grade ore.
Most of the manufacturers prefer making Silico Manganese of grade 60-15 due to availability of low grade ore. High grade Manganese alloys is mostly made in Bengal or Andhra Pradesh due to proximity to the ports, enabling import of high grade ore. Haldia and Vizag Port handle over 90% of total imports.
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