Manganese ore imports grew by 18% y-o-y to 5.45 mnt in FY’24. This is because of attractive prices below $5/dmtu (dry metric tonne per unit) and smelters booked aggressively thereby supporting domestic silico manganese production. It deserves mention that manganese alloys producers, especially exporters, have higher demand for imported material. Y-o-y, exports of manganese alloys, too, reveal a marginal uptick. Moreover, quality benefits drive manganese ore imports. For example, due to its higher yield compared to domestic material, high-grade Gabonese ore (44% Mn) remains attractively priced, incentivising a shift towards imports for yield optimisation. Imported manganese ore contains around 4% Fe, providing better yield compared to domestic ore, which typically contains up to 2% Fe.
