Indian manganese alloys producers are mostly dependent on imports for fulfilling their manganese ore requirements. Although the production of manganese ore has increased exponentially over the years, which has reduced the quantity of imports to some extent, it is still inadequate to fulfill the demands of Indian steel producers. Total volume of ore imports in H1 CY2019 was 1.30MnT which was almost stable compared to the year ago period. South Africa, Gabon and Australia remained the top three exporters of manganese ore to India. Exports from South Africa fell by 10% in the first half of CY2019. Exports from Cote D I’voire also fell significantly by 47%. Meanwhile, the exports of manganese ore by Gabon, Brazil and Zambia to India increased significantly in H1 CY 2019.
Exports from Gabon increased by 60%
Exports from Gabon increased by 60% in H1 CY2018 compared to the same period previous year. Gabon has the sixth largest reserves of manganese ore in the world and it one of the four countries in the world with high grade reserves along with South Africa, Australia and Brazil. It is the fourth largest producer, globally, of manganese ore with 11 per cent share in global production. In recent months, the consumption of Silico manganese increased in the domestic market and, therefore, ore was in high demand. Meanwhile, the prices of Gabonese manganese ore decreased in line with global fall in prices.
| Unload Countries | Jun’19 | May’19 | M-o-M (%) | H1 CY19 | H1 CY18 | Y-o-Y (%) |
| South Africa | 114,100 | 132,665 | -13.99 | 694,276 | 772,134 | -10.08 |
| Gabon | 37,008 | 30,298 | 22.15 | 191,180 | 118,678 | 61.09 |
| Australia | 11,267 | 39,499 | -71.48 | 160,499 | 159,265 | 0.77 |
| Brazil | 20,958 | 11,936 | 75.59 | 122,279 | 49,568 | 146.69 |
| Cote D Ivoire | 3,122 | 3,483 | -10.36 | 66,984 | 125,796 | -46.75 |
| Zambia | 6,420 | 2,635 | 143.64 | 43,571 | 20,440 | 113.17 |
| Others | 3,629 | 681 | 432.89 | 198,22 | 195,74 | 1.27 |
| Grand Total | 196,505 | 221,197 | -11.16 | 1,298,611 | 1,265,457 | 2.62 |
On the future outlook, ore imports are highly likely to be stable as the consumption and production of manganese ore are both occurring at almost similar rates.
To keep abreast of what the future holds register for the International Ferroalloys Conference to be held from 12-14 September at ITC Maurya in New Delhi.
