The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has remained stable during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $5.54/dmtu at
China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $5.71/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $5.38/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $4.81/dmtu.
During the past week. trading activity for manganese ore at southern Chinese ports has been slightly better than at northern ports. The overall trading volume for manganese ore in
China has remained stable at medium levels. Traders have chosen not to raise their quoted prices for now because of the slight decrease in downstream manganese alloy market prices in the previous week. Australian miner BHP Billiton's ore quotations for October are up by a slight margin of $0.03/dmtu. Chinese alloy producers state that their profit margins are already very low and that increases in manganese ore costs will make it very difficult for them to make a profit. For the coming week, it is believed that domestic manganese ore prices may move up slightly on the back of the increase in overseas quotations.