Power cuts boost China's SiMn market; low-grade manganese ore price softens

New power cuts in China's Inner Mongolia region boosted spot silico-manganese prices to a two-year high in the week ended Friday July 16, but sentiment in the low-grade manganese ore market went down on concerns that reduced manganese alloy production could hurt ore demand in the near term, despite the continuing civil unrest in South Africa.

On July 14, Inner Mongolia's power network dispatch center estimated the daily power deficit for the following five days to be 8.63 million kW, 8.33 million kW, 5.93 milllion kW, 5.43 million kW and 4.03 million kW.
As a result, many smelters have been ordered to reduce their power usage to different extents, varying in the range 30-40%, based on their scales and previous power usage records. This was predicted to have significant repercussions for their operations.
"Our production has been disrupted by continuous power cuts caused by severe supply shortages," Puyuan Ferroalloy said on July 15. "It is estimated that we could only complete 40-50% of our planned production in July. Therefore, we can no longer ensure the amount of supply previously agreed with our clients."

Similar notices were issued by a number of major producers in the city of Ulanqab, fueling supply...

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