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Manganese

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An essential steelmaking metal, used to remove sulfur and oxygen and to strengthen steel. Ore comes mainly from South Africa, Gabon, Ghana and Australia. A small but growing share goes into lithium-ion batteries, and the EU classes battery-grade manganese as strategic.

Supply risk

Reviewed 3 Oct 2026 · Methodology

Elevated

Ore supply is spread out, but China makes most manganese alloys and metal

Supply concentration (high) sets the level: ore comes mainly from South Africa and Gabon, but China made about 69% of the world's manganese ferroalloys in 2023 and leads in electrolytic metal and battery-grade sulfate. EU safeguard quotas on manganese alloys since November 2025 (policy, elevated) and Gabon's planned 2029 ore export ban add to it.

Since 1 Jan 2023 · Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey

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Risk drivers

Supply concentrationHigh
Mining is moderately concentrated: South Africa supplied about 38% and Gabon about 25% of 2025 ore output. Processing is more concentrated: in 2023 China made 2.16 million t of ferromanganese and 11.3 million t of silicomanganese, about 69% of world output, and was the leading producer of electrolytic manganese metal and battery-grade sulfate.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey
Export controlsModerate
Gabon, the second-largest ore producer, announced in Jun 2025 a ban on unrefined manganese exports from 1 Jan 2029. In Feb 2026 its mining minister called the date non-negotiable and said miners that have not started building processing plants by end-2026 will lose their licences. No restriction is yet in force.Sources: Reuters via Kitco, Engineering News
Policy & tariffsElevated
Since 18 Nov 2025 an EU definitive safeguard has set country-specific tariff-rate quotas on ferromanganese and silicomanganese imports, with a duty on out-of-quota imports below a set threshold, until 17 Nov 2028. US antidumping orders on silicomanganese from five countries were continued in 2024.Sources: EUR-Lex, Federal Register
Operational disruptionLow
No major ore outage was identified in the 12 months to October 2026. South32's GEMCO mine in Australia, shut by a cyclone in March 2024 and for dewatering in early 2025, restarted in May 2025.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Argus Media
Demand shockLow
Steelmaking takes about 97% of manganese, and worldsteel estimated global finished steel consumption was unchanged in 2025. Batteries take only 2–3% of manganese consumption.Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, International Manganese Institute, International Manganese Institute

A supply-availability rating, not a price forecast or investment view. Export-control information is factual and is not legal advice.

Trade flows

2024 · HS 260200

Manganese ores and concentrates

Recorded world imports: 40.6 Mt · $6.75B

Top exporters

  1. South Africa55%22.2 Mt · $3.5B
  2. Gabon19%7.8 Mt · $1.67B
  3. Ghana12%4.8 Mt · $556M
  4. Australia6%2.5 Mt · $506M
  5. Côte d'Ivoire2%695,866 t · $98.4M
  6. Brazil2%674,747 t · $106M
  7. Myanmar1%561,830 t · $58.4M
  8. Malaysia<1%269,986 t · $20.5M
  9. Guyana<1%138,873 t · $22.8M
  10. Mexico<1%107,684 t · $23.6M

Top importers

  1. China72%29.3 Mt · $4.41B
  2. India15%6 Mt · $1.11B
  3. Norway3%1.2 Mt · $275M
  4. Japan2%892,576 t · $219M
  5. Indonesia1%544,795 t · $84.4M
  6. Malaysia1%517,788 t · $142M
  7. South Korea<1%357,360 t · $91.9M
  8. United States<1%328,981 t · $95M
  9. France<1%304,563 t · $71.7M
  10. Saudi Arabia<1%245,781 t · $35.9M

Largest routes

  1. South Africa→China15.9 Mt · $2.29B
  2. Ghana→China4.6 Mt · $534M
  3. Gabon→China4.2 Mt · $837M
  4. South Africa→India3.6 Mt · $619M
  5. Australia→China2.1 Mt · $411M

Source: UN Comtrade, imports reported by 90 countries for 2024. Exporters are ranked by what importing countries recorded (mirror data), so countries that do not report their own exports are still counted. Values are in US dollars including freight and insurance. Weights are product weight. Recent years can be incomplete, and unrecorded trade is not included.

Overview

Manganese is a transition metal and the fourth most used metal by tonnage, after iron, aluminum and copper.1 Ordinary steel contains about 1% manganese, which makes it stronger and more wear-resistant, and steel with about 13% manganese is used for railway tracks and safes.2

Steelmaking accounts for about 97% of manganese consumption.3 Every steelmaking route needs it: it removes sulfur and oxygen and adds strength, toughness and hardness.3 states that manganese has no satisfactory in its major applications.4

Manganese is on the US List of and the EU list of . The EU also lists manganese as a .56

Where it comes from

The main are pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) and rhodochrosite (manganese ).2 Most ore is mined in open pits, and manganese is mined in more than 30 countries.1 Nodules on the ocean floor contain about 24% manganese but are not mined commercially.2

World was an estimated 20 million t of contained manganese in 2025, up from 18.7 million t in 2024. South Africa supplied about 38% and Gabon about 25%, followed by Ghana and Australia.4 A mine in northern Australia that had suspended work after a tropical cyclone in 2024 restarted in May 2025.4

Mine production by country (manganese content)2025 (est.) · world 20,140,000 t
  • South Africa38%
  • Gabon25%
  • Ghana10%
  • Australia8%
  • Brazil4%
  • India4%
  • China3%
  • Other countries8%

Manganese content of ore. World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 20 million t. "Other countries" includes Côte d'Ivoire (350,000 t). Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Manganese

South Africa holds an estimated 70% of the world's manganese . The largest reported are in Australia, South Africa, Brazil and China.4

Reserves by country (manganese content)2025 · world 1,800,000,000 t
  • Australia32%
  • South Africa31%
  • Brazil17%
  • China14%
  • Gabon3%
  • India2%
  • Ghana<1%

World total is the USGS rounded figure; USGS describes reserves in other countries as small. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Manganese

Most manganese ore is into , and China is by far the largest alloy producer.1

What it is used for

Manganese goes into steel as ferromanganese and silicomanganese, added to the furnace or to the ladle after tapping.3 Demand therefore tracks steel output. The World Steel Association estimated that global finished steel consumption was unchanged in 2025.4

Aluminum is the second most important metallurgical use. Small additions of manganese improve resistance in alloys used for beverage cans, roofing and car radiators.1

Batteries are the largest non-alloy market, but take only 2 to 3% of world manganese consumption. Manganese dioxide is used in primary dry cells. manganese dioxide and manganese are used in for consumer electronics and .7 Other uses include potassium permanganate for water treatment, manganese sulfate in fertilizers and animal feed, and ferrites for electronics.1

Grades and forms

Ore is sold by manganese content, which typically ranges from 35% to 54%. Ferromanganese typically contains 74% to 95% manganese.4 Ferromanganese comes in high-, medium- and grades.3 Electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) is used in stainless and high-strength steels and aluminum alloys. It is also a for manganese sulfate and manganese tetraoxide.8

Manganese ore

Typically 35–54% Mn

Metallurgical ore smelted into ferroalloys; a 44% Mn grade is a common benchmark.

Ferromanganese (HC, MC and LC FeMn)

Typically 74–95% Mn

Iron-manganese alloy in high-, medium- and low-carbon grades, added to steel to deoxidize, desulfurize and strengthen it.

Silicomanganese (SiMn)

Manganese-silicon-iron alloy that adds manganese and silicon to steel in one step.

Electrolytic manganese metal (EMM)

High-purity metal used in stainless steel, aluminum alloys and as feed for manganese sulfate and oxide.

High-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM)

Battery-grade chemical used to make cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.

Manganese dioxide (EMD, CMD, natural)

Used as the cathode material in primary dry-cell batteries and in some lithium-ion chemistries.

Trade and policy

The United States has not produced manganese ore containing 20% or more manganese since 1970, and it relied on imports for all of its consumption in 2025. In 2021–24, its ore imports came mainly from Gabon (64%) and South Africa (24%). Ferromanganese came from Malaysia, Australia, Norway and South Africa, and silicomanganese from Georgia, South Africa, Australia and Malaysia.4

Gabon was the second-largest producer in 2025.4 It plans to require domestic processing of its ore:

DateEvent
Jun 2025Gabon's government announces that exports of unrefined manganese will be banned from 1 January 2029. Most of the country's ore is currently exported, including from Moanda, which Reuters describes as the world's largest manganese mine.9

Under the EU , manganese is a critical raw material, and only its battery grade is also classed as strategic. Battery-grade manganese sits on the strategic list alongside battery-grade lithium, graphite and nickel.6

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Manganese is incidentally, as part of ferrous and nonferrous , but scrap recovery aimed at manganese itself is negligible. Manganese is also recovered along with iron from steel .4

There is no satisfactory substitute for manganese in its major applications.4

Sources

  1. Manganese: discovery, applications, health & safety. International Manganese Institute, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Manganese: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Manganese in steel. International Manganese Institute, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Manganese. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  5. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  6. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩2

  7. Manganese and batteries. International Manganese Institute, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  8. Electrolytic manganese metal (EMM). International Manganese Institute, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

  9. Eramet shares slide as Gabon plans manganese ore export ban. Reuters via Kitco, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

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