The disruption of the operation of the main manganese mine of South32, the world's largest manganese ore producer, is expected to reduce the global manganese ore supply by more than 10% in 2024, and reduce China's domestic monthly manganese ore imports by about 300,000 tons, and there is a risk of a serious shortage of manganese ore supply in 2024.
Australian mining company South32 disclosed in its 2024 first quarter report that the company's key infrastructure on Groot Island was severely damaged by the impact of Tropical Cyclone Megan from March 16th to 17th, and the company's GEMCO manganese mine operation was forced to be interrupted, and the company expects that the terminal operation and manganese ore export business will be resumed in the first quarter of 2025, and the company expects that the terminal operation and manganese ore export business will be resumed in the first quarter of 2025.
Australia is the world's major manganese ore producer, USGS data show that Australia's manganese ore reserves and production in 2022 accounted for about 16% of the world. South32 holds 60% of the equity of Australia Manganese and 54.6% of the equity of South Africa Manganese, and the manganese ore equity production in 2023 reached 5.5 million tons, and the consolidated caliber of the production ranked first in the world. In 2023, Australian Manganese Industry will produce 5.63 million tons of manganese ore. Considering that the project has stopped manganese ore shipment since the second quarter, and assuming that supply cannot be resumed in the following period, it is estimated that the annual manganese ore supply will be reduced by more than 4 million tons, which will affect the global supply by more than 10%, and the manganese ore supply is at the risk of serious shortage.
China is highly dependent on manganese ore imports, and Australia is the main source of manganese ore imports into China. Although South32 has announced that it is evaluating alternative transportation options to mitigate the impact of the terminal shutdown, and manganese raw material supplying countries such as South Africa, Gabon, and Brazil may also increase the supply of a small amount of manganese ore, the shortage of manganese ore supply in China may be difficult to avoid.
China's imported manganese ore prices have risen sharply due to the supply disruption, and the rising manganese ore prices have pushed up the production cost of manganese silicon. Considering the expectation of a significant increase in manganese ore prices, it is expected that the prices of electrolytic manganese and ferromanganese may follow suit.
Hope it will help to guide your purchasing plan. If you have any new enquiries, please don't hesitate to contact us at jscferroalloy@jscferroalloy.com. Stay informed with the latest updates!
Keywords: Silicon Manganese, Manganese, SiMn, Silicon Manganese Alloy, Ferrosilicon Manganese, Silicomanganese
