The world consumption of manganese metal is expected to breach 1.3 million tonnes this year and China’s production capacity of the metal will hit 1.7 million tonnes per year, according to Zeng Xiangbo, general secretary of the Chinese society of manganese plant managers.
China’s manganese metal output has grown by more than 30% annually in recent years and demand from the domestic market has seen growth of 40% per annum, he told delegates at the 2008 Selenium Summit in Kungming.
However, a Chinese manganese metal smelters are facing a forthcoming shortage of manganese carbonate ores due to tens of years of excessive exploitation.
“China will need at least 9.7 million tonnes of manganese carbonate (Mn min 17%) if the annual output of metal is 1.3 million tonnes,” Zeng said.
The manganese ore reserves in Huayuan region of Hunan province will be exhausted in two or three years after 20 years of exploitation, so there will be around 300,000-400,000 tpy of electrolytic manganese capacity facing an ore shortage by then. Ore reserves in the Xiushan region of Chongqing province will probably be close to exhaustion in three or four years, forcing about 170,000 tpy of manganese capacity there to face the prospect of a squeeze on the availability of feedstock. However, the reserves in Tongren region of Guizhou province are expected to last for 10 years as they have been exploited for a shorter period of time.
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