Category II · Industrial & base metals
Manganese.
Critical steelmaking alloy. South Africa holds ~80% of global manganese reserves.
Benchmark
Mn 44% lump CIF China
Unit
US$ / dmtu
Current price · 3-mo forward avg
US$ 5.10 / dmtu
Apr — Jul 2026 (forward 3-mo avg)
Critical steelmaking alloy. South Africa holds ~80% of global manganese reserves.
Price · Mn 44% lump CIF China
2016 — 2035
Solid line: historical annual averages. Dashed line: forward projections (consensus).
Top 5 producing countries
- 01
South Africa
37%
Kalahari Manganese Field — largest in world
- 02
Gabon
14%
Moanda — highest-grade producer globally
- 03
Australia
15%
GEMCO (South32) operations on Groote Eylandt
- 04
China
8%
Largely domestic-consumption mines
- 05
Ghana
5%
Nsuta open-pit
Leading companies
- 01
South32
Operates Hotazel (SA) and GEMCO (Australia)
- 02
Eramet
Comilog (Gabon) — premium high-grade ore
- 03
Assmang
ARM / Assore JV — SA Kalahari operations
- 04
Vale
Brazilian operations
- 05
MOIL
Indian state-owned producer
Of note
- §
South Africa hosts approximately 80% of global manganese reserves — the country is structurally essential to global steelmaking.
- §
Manganese demand is increasing on the EV side via LMFP / LFMP cathode chemistries.
- §
~90% of manganese demand is steelmaking; remaining is battery, fertiliser, and chemicals.
Sources
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024 · International Manganese Institute. Curated quarterly. Forward projections are consensus indications and are not a guarantee of future prices.