[SMM Manganese Ore Weekly Review] Strong Cost Support for Manganese Ore Forward Prices, Miners Reluctant to Sell Spot Cargo

November 14 news:

North China ports: South African high-iron 29.6-30.1 yuan/mtu, up 0.34% WoW; South African semi-carbonate lumps 34.1-34.6 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon 39.7-40.5 yuan/mtu, up 0.25% WoW; Australian lumps 39.9-40.6 yuan/mtu, up 0.25% WoW from last Tuesday; South African medium-iron 35.4-35.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.28% WoW.

South China ports: South African high-iron 30.8-31.3 yuan/mtu, up 0.32% WoW; South African semi-carbonate lumps 36.9-37.6 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon 40.5-41.2 yuan/mtu, up 0.25% WoW; Australian lumps 40.2-40.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.25% WoW; South African medium-iron 37.3-37.8 yuan/mtu, up 1.35% WoW.

Supply side, Jupiter announced its manganese ore shipment price to China for December 2025: Mn36.5% South African semi-carbonate lumps at $4.1/mtu. NMT announced its manganese ore shipment offer to China for December 2025: Mn36% (min) South African semi-carbonate lumps at $4.1/mtu (flat). Firm new round overseas offers for highly oxidized ore, coupled with expectations of reduced quantity, provide strong support for overall manganese ore forward costs. Miners show a strong reluctance to sell spot cargo, making it increasingly difficult to source oxidized ore at low prices.

Demand side, amid the mentality to "rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn", inquiries from downstream plants and traders have increased, making it harder to drive down prices when purchasing. Most manganese ore prices rose slightly.

Overall, influenced by concentrated cargo ownership at ports and high future costs, the atmosphere of holding prices firm is strong at manganese ore ports. In the short term, manganese ore is expected to remain firm.