[SMM Weekly Manganese Ore Review] Manganese Ore Offers Extended Their Decline, and High Inventory Continued to Suppress the Price Rebound

Published: Aug 28, 2026 17:54

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News on August 28: Northern ports: 46% Australian lumps at 40-40.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 33.9-34.2 yuan/mtu, up WoW; Gabon at 39.1-39.5 yuan/mtu, up WoW; South African high-iron at 28.5-29 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African mid-iron at 35-35.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Southern ports: 46% Australian lumps at 42.7-43.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon at 40.6-41.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-iron at 30.2-30.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African mid-iron at 38-38.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. The northern manganese ore market recovered slightly, while transactions in the south China manganese ore market remained sluggish; overall prices continued to move sideways within a range.

Aug 28 update:

North China ports: 46% Australian lumps at 40-40.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate lumps at 33.9-34.2 yuan/mtu, up WoW; Gabonese lumps at 39.1-39.5 yuan/mtu, up WoW; South African high-Fe at 28.5-29 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African mid-Fe at 35-35.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

South China ports: 46% Australian lumps at 42.7-43.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate lumps at 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabonese lumps at 40.6-41.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-Fe at 30.2-30.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African mid-Fe at 38-38.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

The North China manganese ore market recovered slightly, while transactions in the South China manganese ore market struggled to improve; overall prices continued to move sideways within a range.

Supply side, South32’s offers to China for Oct 2026 shipments were $4.2/mtu for South African semi-carbonate lumps (down 0.3) and $4.77/mtu for Australian lumps (down 0.23). Consolidated Minerals (CML) announced its Oct 2026 offer to China for Australian lumps at $4.9/mtu, down $0.2/mtu MoM. Comilog’s Oct 2026 offer to China for Gabonese lumps was $4.7/mtu (down 0.2).The downtrend in miners’ October offers to China remained unchanged, and current market sentiment on price changes has yet to be validated. Mine supply was stable, with no significant increase or decrease in shipments.

Demand side,SiMn futures consolidated, market pessimism eased slightly, and the SiMn market recovered somewhat, but it remained difficult to boost purchases of manganese ore spot cargo.Spot market: alloy production was generally loss-making; operating rates in Inner Mongolia were relatively steady, and plants’ sentiment for inquiries and purchases of manganese ore was mediocre. Producers in Ningxia continued last month’s production curbs and production cuts, with low operating rates and limited mining enthusiasm; alloy plants in south China had the lowest overall operating rates, mainly purchasing as needed for rigid demand, and the market was sluggish. At this stage, most SiMn enterprises adopted a strategy ofrestocking for rigid demand andsmall-lot follow-the-market purchases; during the traditional off-season, market activity was weak, with deals mainly in scattered small lots, and marginal actual demand for manganese ore remained weak.

Inventory side,Tianjin port saw continued inventory buildup, while Qinzhou port saw slight destocking; overall manganese ore inventory remained high, and high inventory constrained upward price momentum.

At present, support from the cost side for the bottom of ore prices has weakened. Downstream alloy demand is soft, and plants are still restocking only to meet rigid demand; coupled with high port inventories and basically no expectations of shortages, ore prices lack upward momentum. In the short term, port manganese ore prices are expected to consolidate.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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