Prospector Trails
Minerals/Battery metals
About 90% of manganese goes into steel as ferromanganese and silicomanganese. High-purity manganese sulphate is a growing battery input (LMFP, NMC and lithium-rich chemistries).
01 · Where it's mined
Mine output was about 20 Mt of contained manganese in 2025, led by South Africa (7.6 Mt) and Gabon (5.0 Mt), then Ghana, Australia, Brazil, India and China. Reserves are about 1.7 Gt, mainly in Australia, South Africa, Brazil and China. Most high-purity sulphate is made in China.
Mine production, Mn content, 2025. Columns on the globe show each country's share.
02 · A century of output
03 · Where it goes
Manganese ores and concentrates, 2024, by value
Arcs run from exporter to importer; thicker means more value. CEPII BACI reconciled trade data.
04 · What it's used for
Demand follows global steel output; battery-grade demand is small today but rising.
05 · Who calls it critical
Critical for the EU (battery grade strategic), US, UK, Canada, Australia and Korea. US net import reliance was 100% in 2025.
06 · Mines to know
Spikes mark mines with output in open data; height follows reported output. Where a public source says where a mine's product goes, an arc runs to that plant.
Every manganese mine and project, by countryThe detail
Mine output was about 20 Mt of contained manganese in 2025, led by South Africa (7.6 Mt) and Gabon (5.0 Mt), then Ghana, Australia, Brazil, India and China. Reserves are about 1.7 Gt, mainly in Australia, South Africa, Brazil and China. Most high-purity sulphate is made in China.
Demand follows global steel output; battery-grade demand is small today but rising.
Critical for the EU (battery grade strategic), US, UK, Canada, Australia and Korea. US net import reliance was 100% in 2025.
Manganese ore containing 20% or more manganese has not been produced domestically since 1970. Manganese ore was consumed mainly by five companies: three companies produced manganese dioxide for pig iron manufacture, and two companies produced silicomanganese and ferromanganese. Other companies consumed ore for nonmetallurgical purposes, such as in the production of animal feed, brick colorant, dry cell batteries, and fertilizers.
In 2025, global production of manganese ore, on a manganese-content basis, increased from that in 2024. The leading countries for manganese ore production were, in descending order on a manganese-content basis, South Africa, Gabon, Ghana, and Australia. Consumption of manganese closely follows the steel industry. The World Steel Association9 estimated global finished steel consumption was unchanged in 2025 compared with that in 2024. On a manganese-content basis, total U.S. manganese imports were estimated to have decreased by 5% in 2025 compared with those in 2024. In October 2025, the year-to-date average spot market prices for manganese ore, 44% grade, from China had decreased by 22% compared with the annual average spot price in 2024. A manganese mine in northern Australia that suspended its operation in 2024 owing to a tropical cyclone resumed operation in May 2025.
Manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications.
Manganese was recycled incidentally as a constituent of ferrous and nonferrous scrap; however, scrap recovery specifically for manganese was negligible. Manganese is recovered along with iron from steel slag.
Land-based manganese resources are large but irregularly distributed; those in the United States are very low grade and have potentially high extraction costs. South Africa accounts for an estimated 70% of the world’s manganese resources.