Producing mineGabon
Moanda
Operated by Comilog (Eramet)
The Bangombé plateau at Moanda produces some of the world's highest-grade manganese ore (≈44% Mn and above).
Photo: Vincent.vaquin · CC BY-SA 3.0
Reference specimen · Eric Polk, CC BY-SA 4.0
Battery minerals
Top-10 #9Sample dataManganese Mn
Manganese is essential to all steelmaking (as ferromanganese and silicomanganese alloys) and is a growing battery input as high-purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM) for NMC and LMFP cathodes. South Africa holds the Kalahari Manganese Field, about 70–80% of the world's economic manganese resources, and is the world's largest producer. Gabon (Moanda) supplies the highest-grade ore.
- Availability
- Spot + Contract
- African sources
- South Africa · Gabon · Ghana · Côte d'Ivoire
- Traded as
- Manganese ore · High-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate · Electrolytic manganese metal
- HS codes
- 2602.00 · 7202.11/7202.19 · 7202.30 · 2833.29
Current offers
Verified companies only
Volumes, origins and terms are shown to verified companies. Availability for everyone else: Spot + Contract. Verify your company or submit a request.
What is traded
Manganese ore
Unit: dmtu · HS 2602.00
high grade >44% Mn (Gabon; e.g. Comilog 44.5% lump), medium grade 36–44% Mn (South African carbonate ores such as 37% Mn 'semi-carbonate'), low grade <35%; sold as lump or fines
High-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM, ~32% Mn)
Unit: dmtu · HS 7202.11/7202.19
battery grade, emerging ex-Africa projects
Electrolytic manganese metal (EMM)
Unit: dmtu · HS 7202.30
mostly Chinese
Ferromanganese / silicomanganese
Unit: dmtu · HS 2833.29
alloys made in South Africa and Ghana
Uses
- Steel (≈90%)
- Battery cathodes (NMC, LMFP, LMO)
- Aluminium alloys
- Fertiliser and chemicals
ARAM sourcing assessment
Good for bulk trade relationships with mid-tier South African producers and traders; HPMSM is a future opportunity. Listing status: Spot + Contract.
- South Africa
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Côte d'Ivoire
Producers, mines and projects
South Africa
Kalahari — South32/Hotazel (Mamatwan, Wessels), Assmang (Nchwaning, Gloria), Tshipi é Ntle, UMK, Kudumane
Gabon
Moanda (Comilog/Eramet), Nsomo; CICMHZ
Ghana
Nsuta (Ghana Manganese Company)
Côte d'Ivoire
Lauzoua and Bondoukou
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — African rows of the world production & reserves table
World Mine Production (manganese content) and Reserves: Significant revisions were made to the 2024 Côte d’Ivoire 340 350 NA Gabon 4,640 5,000 61,000 Ghana 1,280 2,000 13,000 South Africa 7,490 7,600 550,000 World total (rounded) 18,700 20,000 1,800,000
Exports reported by African countries
| Year | Country | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | South Africa | 2602 | $3.09bn | 24.72 Mt |
| 2023 | Gabon | 2602 | $2.95bn | 14.53 Mt |
| 2023 | South Africa | 2602 | $2.66bn | 22.13 Mt |
| 2023 | Ghana | 2602 | $311.4m | 4.97 Mt |
| 2024 | Ghana | 2602 | $237.9m | 3.83 Mt |
| 2023 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2602 | $70.0m | 891.8 kt |
| 2024 | Côte d'Ivoire | 2602 | $65.5m | 856.3 kt |
| 2024 | South Africa | 720211 | $40.6m | 37.6 kt |
| 2023 | South Africa | 720211 | $24.5m | 24.8 kt |
Imports from Africa reported by buyers
Mirror data fills gaps where exporters report late or incompletely.
| Year | Buyer | Origin | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | China | South Africa | 2602 | $2.29bn | 15.92 Mt |
| 2023 | China | South Africa | 2602 | $2.06bn | 14.62 Mt |
| 2023 | China | Gabon | 2602 | $917.6m | 4.86 Mt |
| 2024 | China | Gabon | 2602 | $837.4m | 4.16 Mt |
| 2024 | India | South Africa | 2602 | $619.0m | 3.57 Mt |
| 2023 | India | South Africa | 2602 | $545.2m | 3.29 Mt |
| 2024 | China | Ghana | 2602 | $534.1m | 4.65 Mt |
| 2023 | China | Ghana | 2602 | $483.1m | 3.15 Mt |
| 2024 | India | Gabon | 2602 | $412.1m | 2.08 Mt |
| 2023 | India | Gabon | 2602 | $322.4m | 1.75 Mt |
| 2024 | Japan | South Africa | 2602 | $140.7m | 595.3 kt |
| 2023 | Japan | South Africa | 2602 | $135.3m | 638.4 kt |
Source: UN Comtrade (public data). Values in US$.
How it is priced
- Ore: US$/dmtu (dry metric tonne unit, i.e. per 1% Mn per tonne), CIF Tianjin/China — Fastmarkets and Platts 37% Mn (South African) and 44% Mn (Gabon) benchmarks; producers publish monthly offers (e.g. Comilog, South32)
- HPMSM: China domestic / CIF Asia US$/t (Fastmarkets, Benchmark)
Commercial terms
Minerals trade on formula prices: a published benchmark × metal content × payable percentage, less treatment charges and impurity penalties, settled on independent assay. Payment is typically by documentary letter of credit, with 90–95% provisional payment against shipping documents and the balance on final assay.
Request terms for ManganeseAssay & quality control
- Mn, Fe, SiO2, Al2O3, P, S, moisture; size grading (lump 6–75 mm vs fines); ISO 4296 sampling for manganese ores
Logistics
- Bulk carriers via Port Elizabeth/Ngqura, Saldanha, Durban and Richards Bay (South Africa), Owendo (Gabon) and Takoradi (Ghana); rail constraints at Transnet are a known bottleneck
- IMSBC Code cargo — manganese ore fines can be Group A (liquefaction risk); TML certificate
Export rules by country
South Africa
Levy / tax
export via Transnet rail/port allocations (road haulage fills the gaps); mineral royalties; B-BBEE ownership rules
Primary source
Gabon
No special restriction
reported plan to end raw ore exports (2029) in favour of local processing — verify
Reported — verify before relying on itSource
Compliance & due diligence
- Generally low conflict risk; environmental and community (Northern Cape water/dust) and labour standards
- EU CRMA lists battery-grade manganese as strategic
Red flags
- Grade misrepresentation (e.g. 32% ore sold as 37%)
- Moisture and fines content affecting shipping safety
- Rail/port allocation
Latest findings, with sources
Grades: high-grade ore >44% Mn (Gabon, Moanda/Comilog-Eramet), medium-grade 35–44% Mn (South Africa, Kalahari), low-grade <35%. Gabonese 44.5% lump priced in US$/dmtu CIF China (e.g. Comilog monthly offers ~US$3.95/dmtu late 2025). Gabon ~4.6 Mt (2024), origin of ~63% of US ore imports; South Africa is the world's largest producer.
Source 1 · pubs.usgs.govSource 2 · africangreenminerals.comSource 3 · investingnews.com
Reported (verify): Gabon plans to end raw manganese ore exports (announced 2025, effective 2029) and Eramet signed a processing MOU.
Research compiled September 2026 from USGS, UN Comtrade, producer and regulator publications. Facts marked “reported” come from secondary sources and should be confirmed before contracting.
On the ground · Manganese
The mines behind the supply.
The mines and districts that define supply, with their operators. They are shown for geographic context: third-party operations, not ARAM sites, and not the source of any particular lot. Ownership and status as publicly reported in 2026.
Producing mine
Mining districtSouth Africa
Kalahari Manganese Field
Operated by South32, Assmang, Tshipi é Ntle and others
Holds roughly three-quarters of the world's economic manganese resources, around Hotazel in the Northern Cape.
Photo: TIS0421 · CC BY-SA 3.0Reference specimens
Eric Polk, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shannon Heinle, CC0
JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 4.0
Shannon Heinle, CC0
Darla Sondrol, CC0
Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0
Aram Dulyan (User:Aramgutang), Public domain
Reference specimens of the ore minerals and products, from public collections. They illustrate the material, not a specific ARAM lot or source.
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