I think the long term average price for Mn is closer to US$5 than 6, but even at $6 I reckon e25's concentrate exports are losing lots of money. In manganese (like any commodity) grade is king. e25's ore grade and product grades are very low. Combined with their extremely high logistics and shipping costs, they simply cannot sustain that business.
With regards to the increased demand for contained Mn metal compared to the increase in production of steel, you are spot on. I think you will find though that there was a shift to higher quality steel production in China recently that required a higher level of Mn content than previously. That fundamental shift has now finished so I can't see any more underlying strategic drivers for increased Mn metal demand.
Battery demand is simply too small a fraction of the total demand to really shift the needle.
E25 Price at posting:
$1.23 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
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