China’s silico manganese output grows further in Jul’25

• Silico manganese prices rebound as inventory drops
• Smelters ramp up production volumes in July

Mysteel: Total production of silico manganese (SiMn) in China rose again in July, with the tonnage increasing for the second month by 67,280 tonnes or 8.9% from June to reach a four-month high of 819,610 tonnes, according to Mysteel’s latest monthly survey among the 187 Chinese SiMn smelters it tracks.
The sampled smelters host 99% of China’s SiMn smelting capacity. On a daily basis, SiMn output among the sampled smelters averaged 26,439 tonnes/day in July, higher by 1,361 t/d or 5.4% from the previous month, the survey results showed.

Last month, SiMn output in Southwest China’s Yunnan posted substantial on-month growth of 54.1%, as local smelters continued to ramp up production using the abundant and cheap hydropower available during the wet season. Meanwhile, smelters in northern China also kept their run rates high as their profit margins improved with the increase in SiMn prices, Mysteel Global learned.

China’s SiMn prices recovered significantly in July amid the positive market sentiment. On July 31, Mysteel assessed the national price of 6517 SiMn at Yuan 5,837/tonne ($812/t) including the 13% VAT, jumping by Yuan 322/t on month. On the same day, the most-traded SiMn contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange for delivery in September closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 5,946/t, higher by Yuan 268/t from the settlement price on June 30.

Inventories of SiMn held by Chinese smelters declined in July, which also lent some support to prices of the ferroalloy and encouraged domestic smelters to keep their production high, Mysteel Global noted.

By the end of July, SiMn inventories held by the 63 sampled smelters nationwide under Mysteel’s regular tracking came in at 164,000 tonnes, plunging by 26.2% from one month earlier. These smelters represent about 80% of China’s total SiMn smelting capacity.

For this month, production is expected to continue rising as smelters in northern China may keep their production high, given the steady orders they are receiving. Meanwhile, some smelters in southern China may resume operations with their improved profitability on SiMn sales, according to a market source in Shanghai.