The Domestic Development History Of Manganese Metal

The geological exploration of manganese deposits in China began in 1886 and was first discovered in Xingguozhou (present-day Yangxin), Hubei in 1890. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, large-scale geological exploration of manganese mines began. As of the end of 2012, there were 213 mining areas in China with proven reserves.
The mining of manganese mines in China began in 1890, when the Yangxin manganese mine in Hubei was mined. However, due to poor quality, it was soon discontinued. After more than a hundred years of development, China has formed a relatively complete system in manganese ore mining, beneficiation, smelting, deep processing, and comprehensive utilization, and the production of manganese ore is also continuously increasing.
In addition, with the rapid development of industries such as steel and electronic batteries in China, the consumption of manganese has skyrocketed. However, China's manganese ore is abundant in lean and rich minerals, which cannot meet the domestic demand for manganese resources. As a result, the import of manganese ore has been increasing year by year since 1983, and China has also become the world's main importer of manganese ore. In 2010, China imported a total of 11.6 million tons (calculated as dry tons) of manganese ore, accounting for 58% of the world's total trading volume (20 million tons). In 2011, the import volume of manganese ore in China was 12.97 million tons, an increase of 12.1% compared to 2010, setting a new high in China's annual import history. In 2012, the import volume of manganese ore in China was 11.38 million tons.
The manganese ore imported by China mainly comes from countries and regions such as Australia, Gabon, Ghana, South Africa, Brazil, India, Myanmar, and Eastern Europe. With the continuous development of China's manganese industry, manganese products in China have also begun to be exported, with Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, North Korea, Thailand and other countries being the main export destinations for manganese products in China. In recent years, due to the high domestic demand for manganese resources, the weak international market, and factors such as government taxation on related manganese products, the export volume of manganese products in China has decreased. In 2012, the cumulative export volume of manganese products in China (such as manganese peaches) reached 87705.052 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 17%. In 2013, 16.68 million tons of manganese ore were imported, a year-on-year increase of 34.29%, with an import amount of 319.1716 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 46%. Compared to 2012, China's import of manganese ore in 2013 can be said to have increased in both quantity and price. On the one hand, this is due to the continuous increase in rigid demand for manganese alloys due to the increase in crude steel production in China, and on the other hand, it is due to the increase in domestic production of manganese mines such as South Africa and an increase in investment in the Chinese market.
In recent years, the problems in the development of China's manganese industry have become increasingly prominent. For example, manganese ore is mainly produced in small and medium-sized mining areas, with low mining utilization and recovery rates. Some mines still have the phenomenon of indiscriminate mining, outdated technology and equipment, serious environmental pollution, unreasonable industrial layout and structure, overcapacity, and high dependence on foreign ores. These problems have all constrained the development of China's manganese industry.
In 2013, various national policies on environmental protection and the elimination of outdated production capacity were introduced, aiming to regulate the production of steel and electrolytic manganese. The production capacity of electrolytic manganese is severely surplus, and the situation of oversupply of production is tense. Although the excess production capacity of electrolytic manganese may be reduced under normal government regulation, it also requires a certain transitional time. In order to solve these problems, China's manganese related enterprises should pay close attention to the domestic and international markets, adjust the import volume and output of manganese ores in a timely manner, play the active role of industry associations, and enhance the voice of international market prices. Relevant departments should also encourage and guide enterprises to implement the "going global" strategy, increase overseas investment and factory construction efforts, and ensure the supply of China's manganese ore market. In addition, relevant national departments should also integrate manganese ore resources, ban illegal mining, eliminate inefficient small mines, raise the industry access threshold, increase the concentration ratio of exploration and mining, increase investment in new processes and equipment, continue to implement energy conservation and emission reduction, and promote the healthy development of related industries.