Manganese Price Today: Spot Rates, Market & Outlook

The manganese price today: electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) trades at $2,599.51 per tonne on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM, major areas average, 3 August 2026), down slightly from $2,614.99/tonne in July, while battery-grade manganese sulphate stands at $1,137.29 per tonne, up modestly from $1,129.74/tonne — a market split that reflects manganese’s dual identity as both a bulk steel input and a critical battery material. This cycle, the two segments have diverged rather than moved together: metallurgical EMM and manganese ore have eased, while battery-grade compounds have held essentially flat to slightly firmer.

Current Manganese Price

Manganese is priced differently depending on form and grade. The SMM data below covers the principal benchmarks used by steel producers, battery manufacturers, and traders as of 3 August 2026.

Electrolytic Manganese Metal (EMM)

Battery-Grade Manganese Compounds

Manganese Ore

Ore prices are quoted per dry metric ton unit (dmtu) — one percent of manganese contained per dry metric tonne. Australia 46% block ore at $6.02/dmtu at Tianjin therefore represents approximately $277/dry tonne landed, down from roughly $294/dry tonne in July. The premium of Australian ore over South African material reflects grade, consistency, and shipping reliability, though the South African hemicarbonate line saw the sharpest percentage decline of any ore grade this cycle.

Manganese Price in USD, EUR, GBP and Other Currencies

Exchange rates: Google Finance/XE, August 2026. Conversions calculated from the SMM Major Areas EMM benchmark. CNY figures reflect the USD/CNY mid-market rate and do not represent the SMM domestic Chinese price, which incorporates VAT and may differ materially.

Manganese Price Per Gram, Per Ounce and Per Pound

Metallurgical vs Battery-Grade Manganese: Two Markets

The manganese price story in 2026 cannot be told as a single number. Manganese operates across two structurally distinct markets that respond to different demand signals.

Metallurgical manganese — consumed as ferromanganese and silicomanganese in steel production — accounts for approximately 90% of global manganese demand by volume. High-carbon ferromanganese (FeMn65C7.0) is priced at $753.27/t on SMM (3 August 2026), down from $771.28/t in July; silicomanganese 6517 averages approximately $852.97/t across major Chinese production regions, essentially flat on the month. Both remain under pressure relative to earlier-2026 levels.

Battery-grade manganese — primarily manganese sulphate (MnSO₄) for NMC and LMFP cathode production, and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) for lithium-manganese-oxide (LMO) cells — is a smaller but faster-growing segment. Battery-grade sulphate has held firm at $1,137.29/t, up modestly from July’s $1,129.74/t, in contrast to the softer tone across metallurgical and ore benchmarks this cycle. This relative resilience is worth noting: it’s the first month this page has shown the battery segment diverging positively from the bulk steel-input side rather than tracking it. For context on the broader battery supply chain, see the top 10 battery materials companies active in this space.

What Is Driving Manganese Prices

Steel demand weakness has been the primary bearish driver across metallurgical manganese product forms through much of 2026, and this cycle’s renewed softening in EMM, ferromanganese, and most ore grades is consistent with that pressure reasserting itself after July’s brief firming. China accounts for roughly 55% of global crude steel production, and the multi-year contraction in Chinese real estate has reduced construction-grade rebar demand — the largest single end-use for ferromanganese and silicomanganese. This structural pressure is the same dynamic that has weighed on cobalt and nickel in their respective battery-adjacent metallurgical markets.

On the supply side, the three dominant ore exporters — Australia (primarily South32’s GEMCO operation in the Northern Territory), Gabon (Comilog, a subsidiary of Eramet), and South Africa — have resumed normalised shipping after disruptions in 2023–2024. The return of stable supply from all three sources has removed a price floor that had previously supported ore markets, and this cycle’s broad-based ore softening — particularly the sharp pullback in South African hemicarbonate material — is consistent with that oversupplied backdrop persisting. According to USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, global manganese ore production runs at approximately 20 million tonnes annually, with South Africa, Gabon, and Australia as the three largest exporters.

Battery demand for high-purity manganese compounds is growing but not yet large enough to redirect the metallurgical surplus. LMFP (lithium manganese iron phosphate) cell chemistry — which uses higher manganese content than standard NMC — is gaining commercial traction in Chinese EV production, and this is supporting incremental demand for battery-grade sulphate, consistent with that segment’s continued firmness even as the metallurgical side has softened this cycle. The scale of LMFP adoption over 2026–2028 is the most significant demand variable for battery-grade manganese pricing.

Manganese Supply: South Africa, Australia, and Gabon

South Africa holds the world’s largest manganese ore reserves — estimated at over 570 million tonnes of manganese content — concentrated in the Kalahari Manganese Field in the Northern Cape. South32 (ASX: S32), Samancor (a joint venture between South32 and Hotazel Manganese Mines), and Assmang are the principal producers. South African ore dominates the high-iron and hemicarbonate segments, priced at a discount to Australian material reflecting grade differences — a discount that has widened this cycle as South African grades fell more sharply than Australian material.

Australia’s Northern Territory is home to the Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), operated by South32. GEMCO produces high-grade block ore that commands the premium pricing visible in SMM’s Australian benchmark. The operation is the world’s largest single-site manganese producer. Gabon’s Moanda mine, operated by Comilog (Eramet Group), is a significant secondary supplier to Chinese ports, priced between Australian and South African material.

China itself produces meaningful quantities of lower-grade ore but is a net importer of high-grade material. Chinese smelting of ferromanganese, silicomanganese, and EMM accounts for the majority of global processing capacity, meaning the manganese supply chain has significant China dependency at the processing stage even where ore originates elsewhere. The International Manganese Institute publishes annual statistics on production, trade flows, and end-use demand.

Manganese Price Outlook

Near-term direction is closely tied to Chinese steel output policy and the pace of LMFP battery adoption. This cycle’s renewed softening across metallurgical and ore benchmarks, following July’s brief firming, suggests the underlying steel-demand weakness has not been resolved — the July rebound looks more like a temporary pause than a turning point based on this month’s data. On the battery side, analyst consensus broadly expects battery-grade manganese sulphate demand to grow materially through 2027–2028 as LMFP chemistry scales in Chinese and eventually Western EV supply chains, and this cycle’s relative firmness in that segment is consistent with that thesis holding up even as the metallurgical side weakens.

The manganese price for metallurgical grades remains sensitive to Chinese steel utilisation rates. For battery-grade compounds, the floor is partly set by Chinese processing costs; this cycle’s steady-to-firm reading suggests that floor is holding. Forecasts from available analyst sources suggest metallurgical EMM in the $2,000–$2,800/t range and battery-grade sulphate at $900–$1,300/t as plausible 2026 corridors, subject to revision.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices are subject to change without notice.