Manganese Price

Manganese (Mn) is one of the most common elements in the crust of the earth. Although, opinions of scientists differ about the abundance of the element, ranging from fifth to twelfth most abundant element on earth. It roughly constitutes 0.1 percent of the earth’s surface.

 

Quick Overview of Manganese

✔️An overview of manganese (Mn) and its history
✔️The production of manganese
✔️Investing in manganese
Factors that influence the price of manganese
For what is manganese used?
Worth knowing

 

An overview of manganese (Mn) and its history

Manganese is never found on its own in the earth’s crust, but it is widely distributed and found in several minerals such as:

• Pyrolusite is a mineral consisting primarily of manganese dioxide (MnO₂).
• Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral, ranging in colour from light pink to bright red.
• Romanechite, is also an important ore mineral of manganese.
• Wad, also known as Bog Manganese, consists primarily of hydrated manganese oxides.

Pyrolusite and rhodochrosite are the two most common manganese minerals.

Manganese ores are primarily mined in Australia, China, Gabon, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Noteworthy, large quantities of manganese nodules, also referred to as polymetallic nodules, occur on the ocean floor. These nodules comprise approximately 24 percent manganese, together with other elements like aluminium, iron, and silicon in lesser abundance. It is estimated that these nodules contain much more manganese than the manganese minerals in the crust of the earth.

Manganese derives its name from the Latin word for ‘magnet’ which is magnes. Although, manganese itself has no magnetic properties but the mineral pyrolusite which consists of manganese dioxide (MNO₂) has magnetic properties.

Also, when manganese is combined with aluminium, antimony, and copper to create alloys, they are particularly ferromagnetic.

 

Manganese in the periodic table of elements

• Atomic symbol: Mn
• Atomic number: 25, indicating the number of protons in the nucleus
• It is classified as a transition metal, indicating that it is malleable, ductile, and a conductor of electricity and heat.
• Manganese is placed in group seven (the former group 7B) above technetium (Tc), the first artificially produced element.

 

Properties of manganese

• Solid at room temperature.
• Melting point: 1 246 degrees Celsius (2 275 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Boiling point: 2 061 degrees Celsius (3 742 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Density: 7.3 grams per cubic centimetre.
• Extremely hard and brittle.
• Colour is grey-white, resembling iron. It is also described as silver-white.
• It is reactive when pure.
• Decomposes slowly in water.
• As a powder, it will burn in oxygen.
• Dissolves in dilute acids.

 

The history of manganese

Long before it was recognised as an element in 1774, manganese has been used in ancient times. For example:

• According to historians, paints pigmented with manganese dioxide can be traced back at least 17 000 years. Some historians even assume 30 000 years ago.
• Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher, reported that manganese oxide was used in the first century A.D. in glass manufacturing, making the glass clear, removing colour from glass, or adding colour to it. Manganese oxide was also used as a black pigment in pottery.

According to Chemicool, the German chemist Johann Heinrich Pott (1692 – 1777) discovered in 1740 that pyrolusite comprised a new earth metal, rather than iron, as was commonly believed.

During the mid-1700s, manganese dioxide was used in the manufacture of chlorine.

In 1774, Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742 – 1786), a Swedish-German chemist, was the first scientist to recognise that manganese was an element. Later in 1774, Scheele’s colleague Johan Gottlieb Gahn (1745 – 1818), a chemist from Sweden, successfully isolated the metal by heating the mineral pyrolusite in the presence of charcoal, producing a hard, brittle metal.

 

The production of manganese

The top manganese-producing countries in the world in 2025

1. South Africa

South Africa is by far the largest global producer of manganese. The country produced 7.4 million metric tonnes (MT) in 2025, about 1 million MT more than the production in 2025.

 

The country has also the largest reserves of manganese in the world, 640 million MT (about 78% of global manganese resources), mainly in the Kalahari Basin, which holds 80 percent of the world’s known manganese ore resources.

2. Gabon

Gabon, located on the west coast, also called the Atlantic coast, of Central Africa, was the world’s second-largest producer of manganese in 2025 with 3.6 million MT of manganese. This was an increase of 0.29 million MT from the previous year.

 

3. Australia

Australia was the third largest producer in 2025 with a production of 3.3 million MT.

In the Northern Territory of the country, Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), a subsidiary of South32 operates an open-cut manganese mine which is one of the lowest-cost manganese ore producers in the world.

 

4. China

In 2025, China was the fourth largest global producer of manganese, producing 1.3 million MT, slightly less than the country’s production of 1.34 MT in 2025. The total manganese reserves of China are estimated at 54 million MT, which is the sixth largest in the world.

China is also one of the top consumers of manganese in the world due to its enormous steelmaking industry.

 

5. Ukraine

Ukraine’s manganese production of 670 000 MT in 2025 put the country in the fifth position among the top global producers of manganese. This was a considerable increase of about 100 000 MT from the previous year. The country has manganese reserves of 140 million MT.

The war against Ukraine which was started by Russia on 24 February 2025 will certainly have an impact on the beleaguered country’s manganese production in 2025.

 

The other countries in the top 10 list of global manganese producers are as follows:

Position	Country	Production - 2025	Production - 2025
6	Ghana	640 000 MT	637 000 MT
7	India	600 000 MT	632 000 MT
8	Cote d’Ivoire	500 000 MT	525 000 MT
9	Brazil	400 000 MT	494 000 MT
10	Malaysia	360 000 MT	347 000 MT

 

Production of manganese

According to Manganese X Energy Corp., manganese ores generally consist of 25 to 45 percent of manganese, primarily in oxide (or hydroxide) and carbonate minerals.

 

• Mining of manganese

The most common method of manganese mining is shallow open-pit mining, also called opencast mining. According to AngloAmerican is open-pit mining ‘the most common method used throughout the world for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels. This surface mining technique is used when mineral or ore deposits are found relatively close to the surface of the earth.’[1]

 

The following information about the creation of open-pit mines is provided by AngloAmerican:

• The mines are dug on benches ranging between four and sixty metres in size, depending on the size of the excavation machinery.
• The walls of most open-pit mines are dug at an angle and have steps to prevent avalanches from occurring inside the site.
• The incline section of a wall is referred to as the ‘batter,’ and the flat part of the step is called the ‘bench’ or ‘berm.’
• Sometimes, de-watering bores are drilled horizontally into the walls to reduce water pressure, which can demolish the walls if not properly attended to.
• A haul road is dug at the side of the open pit to create a ramp for the trucks that carry the ore from the mining site and other equipment and material to and from the site.

Another method to mine manganese is underground mining, which is applied when the manganese ore is too deep to mine profitably by using open-pit mining methods. Typically, manganese ore mined underground is of a high grade, valuable enough to cover the more expensive underground mining costs.

There are manganese mines that utilise both open-pit and underground mining methods.

 

• Processing of manganese ore

The start of the manganese ore processing involves a multistage crushing process of the ore.

Pure manganese is processed by leaching manganese ore with sulfuric acid and a subsequent electrowinning process. It is used in the making of non-ferrous alloys, also referred to as iron-free alloys, of aluminium, copper, nickel, and manganese as well as in the preparation of high-purity chemicals.

Silicomanganese and ferromanganese are produced by the smelting of manganese ores in a blast furnace or, more often, in an electric furnace.

Silicomanganese is a crude alloy consisting of 65 to 70 percent manganese, 16 to 25 percent silicon, and 1 to 2.5 percent carbon, used in the manufacture of low-carbon steel.

Ferromanganese is an alloy comprising 30 to 80 percent manganese, used in the production of steel.

Manganese X Energy Corp. explains that ‘the main purpose of processing manganese ore is about producing a specific and acceptable grade of manganese, where the objective is for maximum recovery of the manganese.’

 

Investing in manganese

Investors interested in the manganese market may find it difficult to gain exposure to the metal.

A considerable number of large companies are involved in the production of manganese. However, only a few of them are publicly traded companies such as South32 (ASX), Anglo American (LSE), Vale (NYSE), and Eramet (EPA).

Thankfully, there are also smaller manganese companies that trade on stock exchanges in Canada, the USA, and Australia. Examples of these companies are:

• American Manganese (TSXV)
• Bryah Resources (ASX)
• Giyani Metals (TSXV)

The letters in brackets refer to the particular stock exchange on which the shares of the company are listed.

• ASX = Australian Securities Exchange
• LSE = London Stock Exchange
• NYSE = New York Stock Exchange
• EPA = Euronext, France’s securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000.

 

 

Factors that influence the price of manganese

The overview below is based on information obtained from an article, ‘The Assay’s Guide to Manganese Mining and Production,’ published by The Assay[2] on 20 March 2025 and written by Katie Gordon.

The manganese market has experienced volatility over the past years. Volatility is caused by occurrences such as:

• In 2018, shipments from a manganese supplier in China were halted due to non-compliance with certain regulations by its asset manager, pushing the manganese price to US$5.3 per DMTU[3] CIF[4].
• In 2019, manganese hit an extreme low, trading as little as US$3.27 per DMTU CIF. The reasons cited for this low price were a global oversupply of manganese ore and the initial effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing steel demand from the construction industry because construction operations were globally halted.
• The DMTU price of manganese increased in Q2 of 2025 ‘as pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic eased.’

Manganese prices stabilised in the second part of 2025 but are expected to rise at an expected compound annual growth rate of 4.19 percent during the period 2025 to 2027. (Although, this estimation was before Russia invaded Ukraine, the fifth largest global producer of manganese. – Note by the article writer.)

The main reasons for the expected growth rate of 4.19 percent are:

• The expectation is that the construction industry, which relies heavily on the use of steel, will grow considerably worldwide, inter alia, because of the rapid urbanisation of developing countries and infrastructure projects by developed countries.
• The growing electric vehicle (EV) market, especially with intentions to eradicate cobalt and nickel from electric vehicle batteries entirely. In addition, cobalt and nickel have ‘precarious international supply chains.’

Also, the Russian war against Ukraine will definitely affect the supply of manganese and subsequently the price of manganese. Ukraine was the fifth largest producer of manganese in 2025.

 

For what is manganese used?

Manganese is primarily used in iron and steel production due to its properties of deoxidizing, alloying, and sulfur-fixing. About 85 to 90 percent of manganese produced is utilised in the making of iron and steel.

The process referred to as manganese phosphating (Parkerizing) is applied to prevent the corrosion and rusting of steel.

Because of its brittleness, manganese is an alloying agent in a variety of steel and other alloys. For example, manganese is mixed with aluminium to manufacture soft-drink cans, helping to stiffen the aluminium in the cans.

Manganese compounds have several applications, such as:

• Manganese oxide in fertilizers and ceramics.
• Manganese carbonate is a source material for creating other manganese compounds.
• Manganese dioxide is a catalyst used as a black-brown pigment in paint. It is also used in the original type of dry cell battery to depolarize the dry cell.
• Potassium permanganate, commonly called Condy’s crystals, is a strong oxidizer and is used in chemical reactions. It is also useful as a disinfectant.

Other uses of manganese are:

• As an additive in unleaded fuel, reducing the octane rating and helping to protect a vehicle’s engine.
• Used to make clear glass.
• Provide glass with an amethyst colour and provide colour to amethyst gemstones.
• Used to manufacture lithium-nickel-manganese cobalt oxide, which is known to improve energy loading and the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are high in demand in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.

 

Worth knowing

Manganese is considered a toxic essential trace element, meaning that it is necessary for humans to stay healthy and survive, but it is also toxic when the concentrations of the element are too high in the human body.

Humans need a recommended daily allowance to remain healthy. However, when the intake and consumption are too high, health problems will occur.

Food that contains the highest concentrations of manganese is soya beans, eggs, grains, rice, nuts, olive oil, and green beans. Other examples of food with lesser concentrations of manganese are tea, herbs, and spinach.

After the digestion process, manganese will be absorbed from the digestive system into the blood and carried to the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and endocrine glands.

As an essential nutrient, manganese is involved in several chemical processes in the human body, including the processing of carbohydrates and protein.

Shortages of manganese may cause health effects such as glucose intolerance, fatness, blood clotting, and fatness, to name a few.

As mentioned, manganese can also be toxic when chronic manganese poisoning occurs, resulting from prolonged inhalation of manganese dust and fumes. For instance:

• According to Lenntech, ‘a high incidence of pneumonia and other upper respiratory infections has been found in workers exposed to dust or fume of manganese compounds.’
• ‘A form of Parkinson’s disease-type neurodegeneration called “manganism” has been linked to manganese exposure among miners and smelters since the early nineteenth century,’ as mentioned by New World Encyclopedia.

Please note: The content about manganese and health is solely informative and does not intend to provide any health or medical advice. Please contact a medical expert like a doctor or pharmacist in this regard.

 

Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.

 

[1] Accentuations in quotations and references are by the article writer.

[2] ‘The Assay is a 121 Group initiative that provides a print and online platform for leading fund managers and analysts to share their investment outlooks and market insights.’ The group is situated in Hong Kong.

[3] DMTU is an abbreviation of Dry Metric Tonne (Ton) Unit, which is the internationally agreed-upon unit of measure for manganese ore pricing. It has the same mass value as a metric tonne (MT), but the ore has been dried to reduce the moisture level.

[4] CIF stands for ‘cost insurance and freight,’ implying that the seller remains the primary owner until delivery. This means that the seller is responsible for the costs regarding risk and insurance until the manganese reaches its destination with the buyer. Ownership and liability transfer from the seller to the buyer the moment the manganese passes the boat’s railing at its port of destination.