Who we place it with
Ferroalloy smelters and chemical or battery grade processors
Destinations
China, India, and the Gulf
Volumes placed
30,000 MT cargoes and upward, with mine gate volumes aggregated into export parcels
Metals · Also traded
Manganese Ore
South Africa holds the majority of the world's known manganese resource, almost all of it in the Kalahari Manganese Field in the Northern Cape. We work the full leg from mine gate to vessel, which is where the value in this trade actually sits.
What we supply
Manganese ore from the Kalahari Manganese Field in lumpy and fines form, at grades from 36% through 44% Mn. Buyers are ferroalloy smelters and, increasingly, battery grade processors who take the high manganese fraction.
We hold relationships with counterparties who carry exclusive contracts at producing mines and run the port services leg themselves, which converts mine gate supply into a genuine FOB offtake. That distinction matters: a great many manganese offers in this market are mine gate tonnes dressed up as export cargoes, and they fail at the port.
Typical specification
| Grades | 36% to 44% Mn |
|---|---|
| Form | Lumpy and fines |
| Origin | Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape |
| Loading | Coega and Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha); Saldanha by arrangement |
| Terms | FOB Coega, Incoterms 2020; mine gate and delivered by arrangement |
| Volumes | From 30,000 MT per cargo |
| Pricing | On application, index referenced by grade |
How manganese trades on our desk
Manganese chains are usually multi party: a producer, a logistics and port services holder, a trading intermediary and the end buyer. We paper the whole chain back to back so that each contract mirrors the one above it, reissued on the correct party's letterhead with that party's own details. It is slower to set up and far more robust once it runs.
If you are selling
Selling manganese ore?
If you produce or hold this material and you do not have a reliable route to a buyer, this is the side of the desk you want. Below is who we place it with and what we will need to know.
What we need to know
- Mn percentage, and whether the product is lumpy, fines or both
- Tonnage available and the mine or stockpile location
- Whether you can deliver to port or need the logistics leg arranged
- Any existing port services or handling agreement
You do not need all of this to make first contact. Rough figures are enough to get an answer.
The constraint is almost never the buyer. It is the leg from mine gate to vessel, which is where we do most of the work on a manganese chain.
Questions
Manganese Ore, common questions
Where does South African manganese ore come from?
Almost entirely from the Kalahari Manganese Field in the Northern Cape, which holds the largest known land based manganese resource in the world.
What manganese grades are available?
36% to 44% Mn in lumpy and fines form, with grade selection driven by whether the buyer is feeding a ferroalloy furnace or a chemical or battery grade process.
Which port does manganese export through?
Coega and Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) in the Eastern Cape are the main manganese outlets, with Saldanha used by arrangement.
What is the minimum manganese cargo?
30,000 MT. Smaller trial lots can sometimes be arranged mine gate but rarely FOB.
Further reading
On this market.
Manganese · 25 Apr 2026
Kalahari Manganese: From the Northern Cape to Port Elizabeth
South Africa hosts around 80% of the world's known manganese resources. How Kalahari ore is graded, railed and shipped, and why cargoes start at 30,000 tonnes.
Read ›
Selling · 3 Sep 2026
Why Your FCO Is Not Getting Responses
Full Corporate Offers get ignored for a small number of predictable reasons. What a buyer sees when yours lands, and what to change before the next one.
Read ›
Selling · 2 Sep 2026
NCNDA and Protecting Your Position as a Seller
Non circumvention agreements are routinely misused to lock producers into arrangements that give them nothing. What a fair one looks like and what to refuse.
Read ›
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Next step
Holding manganese ore?
Send the grade, roughly how much you have and where it sits. You will know inside a trading day whether we have a buyer for it.