Ann: Jupiter welcomes Exxaro as prospective partner & shareholder, page-115

**on wants to ban or at least restrict exports of manganese ore by 2029 which could be a major problem for Eramet.
**on is the key to Eramet and its largest money maker. As one investor said: “Without **on there isn’t Eramet.”
In in the first quarter of 2025 Eramet’s **onese operation’s produced and transported 1.8-million mtpy of ore from **on and it should reach between 6.7- to 7.2-million mt by the end of the year. The cash cost of the ore is only between $2.20-2.20 per dmtu, which makes it’s the largest and most profitable manganese mine in the world. In addition to exporting most of the high grade ore to China, Eramet uses it to feed its money losing smelters, including Marietta in the US.
The company commented: Eramet takes note of the **onese government’s intention to ban crude manganese exports from Jan. 1, 2029. This move is described as part of the country’s stated ambition to strengthen its industrial base, initiated by H.E. President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and his Government.
A long-standing partner of **on and with over 30 years of presence in the country, Eramet has a track record as a committed investor in **on, supporting the country’s industrial development ambitions through investing in sustainable mining operations, constructing value-adding transformation facilities and upgrading key infrastructure.
Eramet acknowledges the Government’s ambition and, as the main co-shareholder in Comilog, will continue to work with the authorities in a spirit of constructive partnership and mutual respect.
Eramet will remain attentive to this policy shift and will work collaboratively to identify further opportunities for it to contribute to **on’s economic development in the long term, whilst maintaining the sustainability of its mining and metals operations. In particular, the Group aims to safeguard the strategic role of Comilog and Setrag in being an internationally significant supplier of manganese to the global steel industry — and the 10,460 **onese jobs they sustain.