SHANGHAI, Nov 10 (SMM) – Western Gold announced on November 8 that it intends to purchase the equities of Akto Kebang Manganese Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Kebang Manganese"), Akto Baiyuanfeng Mining Industry Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Baiyuanfeng"), and Xinjiang Mengxin Tianba Mining Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Mengxin Tianba"), and it will issue shares to qualified investors to raise matching funds.

According to the announcement, Baiyuanfeng is mainly engaged in the mining and sales of manganese ore.

Kebang Manganese is mainly engaged in the processing, manufacturing and sales of EMM and manganese ore, the production of ferromanganese alloy products, the sales of manganese-rich slag, and the transportation and warehousing services.

Mengxin Tianba is mainly engaged in mining investment & development, enterprise investment management, mining technology consulting, sales, mineral products, mining machinery &equipment, and leasing.

Western Gold is currently the largest modern gold mining and smelting enterprise in northwest China. It has a complete industrial chain integrating mine exploration, mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining, and sales. The output of gold produced from ore is among the top ten across the country.

The company has a number of large-scale gold mines, as well as a gold refining enterprise certified by the Shanghai Gold Exchange - Urumqi Tianshan Xinggui Metals Co., Ltd., which is in a leading position in the gold mining and smelting industry.

The announcement indicates that the company is planning to enter the manganese industry.

According to SMM, the current inventory of manganese ore continues to accumulate at ports. Tianjin port shipped 363,401 mt of manganese ore last week, while the arrivals were 457,469 mt.

As the manganese alloy prices kept falling, the alloy plants are still uncertain about the later production, which suppressed the demand of manganese ore.

If Western Gold starts the mining of manganese ore, the inventory may rise further, and the prices are likely to drop amid weak demand. While the production costs of manganese alloy will decrease, and the profits of silicomanganese may be restored.