The manganese flake market is one of the most volatile markets today and will remain so for the near future, Arnaud Vigier, the vice president for manganese alloys sales at Eramet, told delegates of Fastmarkets' International Ferro-alloys conference in Lisbon on November 11-13.
Manganese flake prices started 2018 at $1,800-1,950 per tonne and have been moving upward for most of the year mainly due to production stoppages amid environmental inspections in China. Production of manganese flakes is concentrated in China, with more than 95% of material produced there. There are very few direct purchases from producers and many intermediaries and traders are involved, Vigier said. Although China accounts for more than 95% of global manganese flake production, it only accounts for 52% of global stainless steel production, according to Fastmarkets MB. As a result of this imbalance, stainless steel mills in the rest of the world...