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Battery metals

Manganese (Mn)

Steelmaking (deoxidiser and alloy); battery cathodes (LMFP, NMC).

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Atomic number
25
Period · group
4 · 7
Block
d-block

Why it is critical

Indispensable to steel and growing battery demand; high-purity processing is concentrated.

Who trades manganese

$14 bn of manganese products crossed borders in 2024: ores and concentrates $6.4 bn · intermediates $5.9 bn · refined metal $1.4 bn · chemicals $255 m.

Largest exporters

  1. 1South Africa$3.5 bn25%
  2. 2India$1.9 bn13%
  3. 3Gabon$1.7 bn12%
  4. 4China$1.2 bn9%
  5. 5Norway$867 m6%
  6. 6Malaysia$743 m5%
  7. 7Australia$666 m5%
  8. 8Ghana$556 m4%

Largest importers

  1. 1China$4.0 bn28%
  2. 2India$1.2 bn9%
  3. 3United States of America$1.1 bn8%
  4. 4Japan$677 m5%
  5. 5Netherlands$557 m4%
  6. 6South Korea$544 m4%
  7. 7Germany$534 m4%
  8. 8Türkiye$432 m3%

Trade values in current US dollars (ores, concentrates, intermediates, chemicals and refined metal), not prices. * Includes HS codes that also cover other products. Source: CEPII BACI (HS22), Etalab Open Licence 2.0 — details.