In May this year, manganese ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland totaled 219,603 metric tons, quadruple compared to April, and up 30.4 percent compared to the same month of 2012, according to the monthly data released by the Port Hedland Port Authority.
According to the released information, China and Vietnam were the only export destinations for manganese ore shipments from Port Hedland in May this year with shipments of 170,350 mt and 49,253 mt respectively. China's manganese ore shimpents from Port Hedland rose by 35 percent in May compared to the same month of 2012. On the other hand, there is no record of manganese ore shipments from Port Hedland to Vietnam in May of the previous year nor in the previous month this year.
Port Hedland handles production from mines owned by BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Manganese in the manganese ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.