consmin tex report on manganese ore increases, page-6

Manganese ore shortage may hit steel production
The domestic steel industry's plan to scale up production to 60 million tonnes by 2010 may take a hit as India is running low on key resources used in steel-making such as high grade manganese ore (with low phosphorus content) and ferro manganese ore.

The mining industry anticipates a huge demand-supply gap in manganese ore in the coming years. Both grades of manganese ore have separate uses in the steel industry. While the high grade manganese ore with low phosphorus content is one of the primary raw materials used in steel making, the ferro manganese ore goes into the production of ferro-alloy, which is another ingredient of steel making.

Ferro-alloys are used as alloying elements in the production of steel for modifying strength, ductility, hardness or corrosion resistance and to remove unwanted impurities such as phosphorous and sulphur. The ferro-alloy usage varies depending on the category of steel being produced.

"The reserves of high grade manganese ore with low phosphorus content are extremely low, while the ferro manganese reserves are around 27 million tonnes. The Indian steel industry will experience serious shortage of both grades of manganese ore in the next five years since manganese mining has not been promoted extensively in India," S B Chauhan, advisor to the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi) told Business Standard.

If India has to produce 60 million tonnes of steel by 2010, the requirement of manganese ore will be 2.71 million tonnes. At present, the manganese ore production in the country is around 1.92 million tonnes (including all grades). The steel output is around 47 million tonnes annually.

The total proven manganese ore deposits (including low grade, medium grade and high grade) in India is 104 million tonnes spread over Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Andhra Pradesh.

The public sector undertaking Manganese Ore India (MOIL) accounts for up to 60 per cent of the overall manganese production. During 2006-07, MOIL produced 611,000 tonnes of ferro manganese ore.

"If MOIL optimises production, it will not be in a position to meet the demand for both high grade ore and ferro manganese ore in 2010. If the Indian steel companies have to meet the projected production (60 million tonnes), they have no option other than importing manganese from South Africa, which has 80 per cent of world's manganese deposits," Chauhan pointed out.

Fimi has already appraised the government of the situation. "The government should promote the recovery of manganese ore by beneficiation and sintering.Exploration efforts must be intensified to find additional reserves of high grade ore," Chauhan said.

India produces low grade manganese ore, which is in demand in China. Low grade and medium grade manganese ore has usage in dry battery as depolarizer, paints, ceramics and micro nutrients.

There are a number of private mines that extract and export low grade and medium grade manganese ore to China, Pakistan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Japan and West Asian countries. But exports are very low, around 2.5 lakh tonnes per annum.