Global manganese ore output falls 5% y-o-y over Jan-Apr'24

For the first four months of this year, global manganese ore production fell by 930,000 wet metric tonnes (wmt) or 5% on-year to reach 18.9 million wmt, Eva Yang, China representative of the International Manganese Institute (IMnI) said at an Industry conference on June 26.

Manganese ore mines in America and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries trimmed their output of this ore due to slower demand from manganese alloy smelters, she pointed out at the conference held in North China's Inner Mongolia.

Manganese ore consumption in many countries and regions of the world declined during the first four months with the reduced output of manganese alloys. Over January-April, global manganese alloy production totalled 7 million tonnes, falling by 7% on year.

As the world's largest manganese alloy producer, China produced 4.3 million tonnes of these alloys over January-April, lower by 7% compared with the same period last year, according to Yang.

China's manganese ore imports decreased significantly this year with the thinning of demand. Over January-April, the country's import volume of manganese ore totalled 9.43 million tonnes, lower by 8.4% compared with the same period last year, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs (GACC).

In parallel, Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), a major manganese ore producer located on the island of Groote Eylandt in North Australia, halted operations in mid-March after Tropical Cyclone Megan damaged port facilities. This was another factor for the lower manganese ore output, according to the report.

However, production of manganese ore in Africa and India achieved on-year growth over January-April, with the volume up 4% and 17% respectively on year at 12.3 million tonnes and 1.3 million tonnes, the report showed.

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