The Nine Largest Manganese Ore Suppliers: Market Shifts and Battery Boom

Manganese prices have experienced dramatic swings recently, shaped by everything from tropical storms to weak Chinese economic performance. After spiking in Q2 2024 when Tropical Cyclone Megan damaged Australia’s GEMCO operation, prices retreated as alternative supplies flooded the market and demand from China faltered. Through early 2025, manganese has been consolidating at relatively stable levels, though many analysts expect China’s economic recovery could be the deciding factor in the next price movement.

Why Manganese Matters More Than Ever

The industrial metal serves as the backbone for steel production, but its real growth story lies elsewhere. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts that manganese demand could multiply eightfold between 2020 and 2030, driven almost entirely by the electric vehicle battery revolution.

Manganese oxide and manganese dioxide work as cathode materials in traditional alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries, but the transformative applications are in lithium-based chemistry. NMC (lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries deliver superior energy density and cycle life, making them the preferred choice for EV manufacturers. An emerging alternative—LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate)—combines manganese with iron to boost energy capacity and low-temperature resilience. Meanwhile, manganese serves as an engine coating agent in refined petroleum and strengthens aluminum alloys used in packaging.

The steel sector remains the largest consumer by volume, using manganese as an alloying agent to enhance strength and workability in construction materials.

Who Controls Global Manganese Ore Supply?

South Africa Dominates the Landscape

South Africa stands alone as the world’s manganese powerhouse, producing 7.4 million metric tons in 2024—a 200,000 MT increase from 2023. The country holds an even more commanding position in reserves, controlling 560 million metric tons (roughly 70 percent of global known resources) and generating 37 percent of planetary manganese ore output.

South32 anchors the country’s production through its 44 percent stake in South Africa Manganese, operating the Mamatwan open-pit mine and the underground Wessels facility in the mineral-rich Kalahari Basin. Anglo American holds 29.6 percent of the same operation. Jupiter Mines rounds out the competitive landscape with its 49.9 percent ownership of Tshipi Borwa, rated among the world’s five largest manganese ore mining operations.

Gabon and Australia Follow

Gabon produced 4.6 million metric tons in 2024, cementing its position as the second-largest supplier. The nation supplied 63 percent of US manganese ore imports last year, with Eramet’s Moanda facility serving as the hub. Eramet, the globe’s second-ranked high-grade manganese ore producer, temporarily halted Moanda operations in Q4 2024 due to oversupply pressures.

Australia generated 2.8 million metric tons in 2024, slightly below 2023 levels. South32 operates GEMCO with 60 percent ownership—one of the world’s lowest-cost manganese ore mines—while Anglo American controls the remaining 40 percent. Cyclone Megan’s damage to export infrastructure is expected to restrict shipments through at least Q1 2025.

Secondary Players Building Capacity

Ghana contributed 820,000 metric tons in 2024, with Consmin controlling 90 percent of Ghana Manganese Company’s Nsuta mine. Consmin, a Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry subsidiary, ranks among the world’s top four manganese ore producers by volume.

India produced 800,000 metric tons (up 56,000 MT year-over-year), with state-owned MOIL dominating domestic supply and operating the country’s sole electrolytic manganese dioxide manufacturing facility. MOIL reported 1.76 million MT of manganese ore production in fiscal 2023/2024.

China’s output fell to 770,000 metric tons in 2024, continuing a steep decline from 1.34 million MT in 2020. Property sector weakness and prior COVID disruptions explain the contraction. Despite lower mining output, China remains a voracious manganese consumer for steelmaking. Firebird Metals is partnering with local firms to develop a high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate facility for battery manufacturers.

Brazil produced 590,000 metric tons in 2024, up marginally from 2023. After Vale exited manganese mining in 2022, J&F Investimentos acquired the Center-West assets. Lhg Mining resumed operations at the Urucum underground mine in mid-2023, with J&F pledging US$1 billion for expansion. Buritirama Mining (part of Grupo Buritipar) is investing US$200 million to scale operations in Para state.

Malaysia emerged as a ferromanganese hub, producing 410,000 metric tons and capturing 24 percent of US ferromanganese imports. OM Holdings subsidiary OM Sarawak operates a smelting complex that produced 317,995 MT of manganese alloy in 2024.

Côte d’Ivoire rounded out the top nine with 360,000 metric tons in 2024, nearly matching 2023 output. The West African producer has quadrupled production since 2015, though it peaked at 525,000 MT in 2020. Four operational mines—Bondoukou, Guitry, Kaniasso, and Lagnonkaha—feed exports mainly to Chinese steelmakers, with secondary shipments to India and Latvia.

The Battery Angle: Where Real Growth Happens

While traditional steel consumption provides baseline demand, the lithium-ion revolution represents the asymmetric upside. As EV adoption accelerates globally, manganese ore and its refined products will transition from commodity-like margins to specialty-chemical pricing power. Investors watching the space should monitor both current miners’ capacity additions and the emerging wave of battery-grade manganese processing facilities across Asia.

Manganese’s role in NMC and LMFP chemistries isn’t peripheral—it’s becoming structural to battery performance, creating a secular tailwind for established producers and new entrants willing to invest in downstream processing.