Global manganese production remains highly concentrated in Africa, with South Africa, Gabon and Ghana together accounting for a substantial portion of total production. This concentration reinforces Africa’s strategic role in the global manganese supply chain and highlights the sector’s structural dependence on a limited number of producing regions.
In 2025, global manganese production is estimated to have increased by 10.8% to 57.3 million tonnes (mt), supported mainly by supply growth from Ghana and Australia. Ghana’s production growth reflects the continued ramp-up of operations at the Nsuta mine, while Australia’s recovery is linked to the gradual resumption of mining at the Groote Eylandt mine from May 2025. Operations at Groote Eylandt were suspended in March 2024 following disruptions caused by Tropical Cyclone Megan, and its restart is expected to materially strengthen Australia’s supply contribution in 2025.
Looking ahead to 2026, global manganese production is forecast to rise a further 3.3% to 59.1 million tonnes, largely supported by Groote Eylandt reaching full production capacity upon restart in 2025. This increase is expected to be a key driver of incremental global supply growth in Australia over the year.
In contrast, production from other major suppliers, including South Africa, Gabon and Ghana, is expected to remain broadly stable, reflecting the absence of significant new capacity additions. However, this stability is particularly significant in the context of supply disruptions elsewhere. The suspension of mining at Kazakhstan’s Kazmarganets mine from December 2023 due to resource depletion, combined with ongoing geopolitical disruptions affecting production in Ukraine, has restricted supply from non-African regions.
As a result, global markets are increasingly reliant on production from South Africa, Gabon and Ghana to meet sustained demand, especially from the steel and electric vehicle battery sectors. Over the forecast period (2025-2035), global manganese production is expected to grow marginally with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of only 0.6% to 60.6 million tonnes by 2035.
“Australian Groote Eylandt mine to support global manganese supply growth in 2026” was created and originally published by Mining Technology, a brand owned by GlobalData.
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