The high-purity manganese market may face a deficit as early as 2024, according to people in the industry heard by MINING.COM.
An essential component of the steel-making process, manganese has played an increasing role in the battery market. The metal sulphate is an important stabilizing ingredient in the cathodes of batteries widely used in electric vehicles and electronics.
Volkswagen, Mercedes, Tesla, and GM are among the companies that have announced intentions to use high-purity manganese in their cars. A Chevy Bolt, for example, can contain over 24 kg of manganese. “The reason nobody is talking about manganese is that it’s very cheap, and it’s taken for granted,” said Andrew Zemek, special adviser at CPM Group.
While the lithium price has skyrocketed over the last couple of years, passing $80,000 per tonne and other metals like cobalt and copper reached over $8,000 per tonne, manganese sulphate costs less than $1,000 per tonne in China.
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