Mysteel: China’s manganese ore imports declined slightly in May, with the total tonnage falling by 28,253 tonnes or 1% on-month to reach 2.94 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) on June 20.
For the first five months of this year, China imported 11.77 million tonnes of manganese ore, edging down 62,099 tonnes or 0.5% from the same period last year, the GACC statistics showed.
Mysteel’s survey showed that during May, the total tonnage of manganese ore delivered to China by the four major exporters – South Africa, Australia, Gabon and Ghana – reached 2.47 million tonnes, slipping by 15% compared with the previous month.
However, China’s manganese ore imports still stayed at a relatively high level despite the on-month decline, leading to an accumulation in inventories of this ore at China’s major ports, Mysteel Global noted.
By the end of May, total stocks of manganese ore at China’s major ports under Mysteel’s regular trading registered 4.07 million tonnes, rising by 9.5% from one month earlier.
In parallel, manganese ore consumption by smelters contracted in line with their lower manganese alloy output. Last month, total production of silicomanganese (SiMn) among the 187 Chinese smelters under Mysteel’s survey slipped further by 62,870 tonnes or 7.8% on month to a 13-month low of 743,025 tonnes, while their daily SiMn output averaged 23,968 tonnes/day, sliding by 2,894 t/d or 10.8% on month. The sampled smelters host 99% of China’s SiMn smelting capacity.
China’s manganese ore prices kept rangebound with the fluctuations in SiMn prices. On May 20, the South African government had approved new policies which identified Mn ore as a critical mineral for the country, as reported. Though the news raised market concerns about manganese ore exports from South Africa, the impact has yet to materialize, resulting a retreat in prices of manganese ore and SiMn after a short-lived rise.
As of May 30, the price of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade manganese ore at North China’s Tianjin port was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 33.2/dmtu ($4.6/dmtu) including the 13% VAT, higher by Yuan 0.4/dmtu on month though it had retreated from the recent high of Yuan 34.5/dmtu on May 23.
By the end of May, the national price of 6517 SiMn under Mysteel’s assessment was at Yuan 5,491/t including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 111/t compared with one month earlier. Meanwhile, the most-traded SiMn contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange for delivery in September closed the daytime trading session on May 30 at Yuan 5,478/t, falling by Yuan 240/t from the settlement price on April 30, according to the exchange’s data.
For this month, manganese ore delivered to China may hover high as more Australian ore is scheduled to arrive. The Australia Manganese joint venture of South32, the world’s largest manganese miner headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, resumed shipments in May after the disruption caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan in mid-March 2024, as reported.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
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