But increasing demand from the EV industry and the subsequent deficit of high-purity manganese may impact the metal price in 18 or 24 months, according to Euro Manganese CEO Matt James.
People in the industry estimate the price at $3,300 per tonne by 2027 — growing to $4,000 by 2031 for Europe and North America, considering the cost of freight from China and costs with green credentials.Over 92% of high-purity manganese sulphate conversion capacity is in China. Currently, only two plants outside of China are in production, one in Japan and the other in Belgium.
“The environmental, social, and governance procedures in China are sometimes not as strict as in other, European and North American and, some African countries. The cost of high manganese sulphate that you see from China is not realistic from the rest of the industry,” said d’Harambure. South32 is developing the first new US manganese mine in decades. The company has allocated $55 million of capital expenditure to work on the Hermosa project in Arizona for the current fiscal year and expects to begin a pre-feasibility study before mid-2023.