State-owned and India’s largest manganese ore producer, Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) has hiked prices across its product basket for Q1 (April-June’16), owing to low availability of imported ore in India and prices of which have almost doubled in the last month.
The prices of all ferro grades of ore have been increased by around 50% (except for Mn 48% grade, for which the offer quantity is also the maximum), silico grade prices have been increased by 15-20%, while the prices of manganese ore fines have been increased by 10%, and Chemical grade has increased by 35% from previous quarter’s prices.
MOIL Manganese Ore Price Comparison Between Q4 FY16 & Q1 FY17
| Particular | Grade/Size | Apr-Jun’16 | Jan-Mar’16 | %Change |
| Ferro Grade | 48% Mn, 4.8% Fe Lumps | 11,678 | 7,414 | 57.5% |
| Ferro Grade | 37.5% Mn, 7.5% Fe, Lumps | 6,644 | 4,930 | 50% |
| Silico Grade | 30% Mn, 8% Fe, Lumps | 4,490 | 3,742 | 20% |
| Silico Grade | 25% Mn, 7% Fe, Lumps | 2,469 | 2,147 | 15% |
| Fines | 30% Mn, 6.5% Fe, Fines | 2,307 | 2,097 | 10% |
| Chemical Grade | 43% mn, 8.5% Fe | 12,494 | 9,255 | 35% |
Prices in INR/MT
Prices excluding royalty of 5% and other taxes
Imported Manganese Ore
International manganese ore prices have almost doubled in the last one month. Port stocks in China fell dramatically and the Chinese have panicked and started buying, producing a big response on the price. Also, reduced supply of South African ores due to mine cutbacks in recent months have also contributed to the concerns and added support to prices. SteelMint assessed higher prices are expected for May shipments, with April cargoes sold out and no offers have been heard to India for April. This could be because as China is scrambling to buy and are willing to pay high, so not many will offer to India now.
High-grade manganese ore (44% Mn) stood at USD 4/dmtu CIF China, up from USD 2.10/dmtu a month back.
South African Carbonate Ore (37% Mn) ore was at USD 3.90/dmtu CIF China, up from USD 1.80/dmtu at the start of the year.
Plants in West Bengal and in Andhra Pradesh have been affected most severely; as with their close proximity to the ports, both of these states rely majorly on high quality imported ore. However, they are now having to source their raw material from MOIL and other private mines.
Indian Manganese Alloy Prices Quick to Respond
MOIL Ltd. has increased prices for the Q1 on expectations of high offtake of its material and improved prices of manganese alloys. With the upward pressure on manganese ore market, manganese ferro alloy prices have witnessed a sharp increase.
Current Indian silico manganese (60-14) prices are assessed at INR 56,000-58,000/MT on ex-works basis and ferro manganese (70%) prices are assessed at INR 54,000-56,000/MT on Ex-Works basis. Indian manganese ferro alloy prices have seen an increase of around INR 17,000-18,000/MT from a month ago.
The rise in manganese ferro alloy prices gives added incentive to the alloy producers to procure more Ore from MOIL, and increase their production when the manganese alloy prices prevailing in the market are high.
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