Manganese Ore: Why to Invest and How to Process?

South Africa, Ukraine, and Australia are the three countries with the largest reserves of manganese ore in the world

Manganese is a metal mineral commonly found in nature. In modern industry, manganese and its compounds are widely used in various economic fields, among which the iron and steel industry is one of the most important fields, and the amount of manganese used is as high as 90%-95%.

In addition to being used in the steel industry, manganese has also been one of the raw materials used in power batteries in recent years. The development of a new energy industry and new energy vehicles will support the growth of manganese demand in the battery field.

The world is accelerating the energy transition, and the demand for steel alloys will continue to grow, and in the long-term outlook, the demand for manganese will rise sharply. The use of manganese in batteries is expected to increase fivefold by 2040, making manganese metal a promising investment prospect.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the world's manganese ore reserves are 571 million tons. South Africa, Ukraine, and Australia are the three countries with the largest reserves of manganese ore in the world, and their reserves and output are all at the forefront of the world.

The reserves of manganese ore in South Africa are 150 million tons, accounting for 26.27% of the world's total reserves, ranking first in the world. Ukraine is the world's second-largest manganese ore resource country, with proven manganese ore reserves of 140 million tons. Australia's manganese ore is 97 million tons, accounting for 16.99% of the global total. It is the world's main producer and exporter of high-quality manganese ore.

The distribution of manganese ore in the world is uneven, and the types are different. The grade of manganese ore in each region is also very different. You can enrich the ore with manganese beneficiation equipment and sell it as a commodity ore. Below are the different types of manganese or beneficiation methods.

Manganese oxide ores are commonly found in weathered deposits, including psilomelane, pyrolusite, and manganite. Gangue minerals are mainly silicate and carbonate minerals, often accompanied by iron, phosphorus, nickel, cobalt, and other components.

Weathered manganese oxide ores often contain a large amount of slime, and the beneficiation adopts the method of washing and gravity separation. The raw ore is first washed to remove the mud. Some are directly used as the finished ores, and some need to be re-selected by jigging and shaking.

Manganese minerals in manganese carbonate ores mainly exist in the form of manganese carbonate, including rhodochrosite, calcium rhodochrosite, and calcite with manganese. Gangue minerals include silicates and carbonates, often accompanied by sulfur and iron impurities, such as quartz, pyrite, apatite and phosphate.

The beneficiation method of manganese carbonate ore is mainly flotation and combined with strong magnetic separation. If it is a sulfur manganese mine, the roasting method is generally used to remove the sulfur.

Iron manganese ores generally recover manganese metal, and the total content of manganese and iron is more than 30%. Iron-manganese ores are difficult to select, and the difficulty lies in the separation of iron minerals and manganese minerals.

The magnetic separation method can remove iron minerals very well. It is often combined with roasting to form a magnetic separation roasting process to improve the concentrate grade.

In addition to manganese minerals, polymetallic composite manganese ore also contains a certain amount of iron, lead, zinc, magnesium, aluminum, copper, silver, and other metal minerals, mostly in the form of oxide ores.

Strong magnetic separation, gravity separation, flotation, and other beneficiation methods can be used for this kind of ores. First, the manganese ore slime is selected by washing and screening, and then other recyclable minerals are sorted.

After manganese ore is processed, you can get manganese concentrate. It is a very valuable mineral with a wide range of industrial uses. In addition to iron making and alloy manufacturing, manganese is widely used in chemical, light, building materials, and other industry fields.