In an exclusive interview with Manganese Investing News Jonathan Lee, Battery Technology and Materials Analyst for Byron Capital Markets, discusses manganese battery technology and the capabilities of this emerging technology.
Lithiated Manganese Oxide is one technology ideal for high-performance batteries. Milwaukee Tools uses this type of battery in their electric power tools and the adoption of this technology is growing into other applications.
Larry Reaugh and Mike McLeod of American Manganese speak about the coming shortage of electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and the future of battery technology for mobile electronics and electric vehicles.
The use of manganese and electrolytic manganese metal in emerging battery technology could provide a much needed new market for manganese. The size of this market is truly immense, from mobile electronics, the automotive industry and even electrical power plants being developed at Stanford.
Prices for March delivery of manganese in China have slipped due to fierce competition and excess inventory. The ramp up in manganese production in 2010 seems to have hit a ceiling in the short term. However, long term outlook shows increased demand for the metal going forward.
While demand for steel is expected to cool off slightly in 2011, Indian steel manufactures are aggressively seeking raw material acquisitions such as manganese mines in South Africa. India hopes to increase steel production by 67 percent by 2012.
The rising price of manganese has shed light on the lack of infrastructure spending, which has hurt the profitability of manganese operations. South Africa needs to increae the capacity of railway lines and ports to ship out more of the material. Also, India explores the ocean depths for manganese resources.
South Africa is threatening to seize interest in mining companies that fail to have mandated levels of black ownership by 2014. Opposed by labor unions and business leaders, laws such as these are becoming more common around the world. India has also changed royalty and profit sharing rules towards mining companies in an effort to help displaced people.
Many mining companies in the Pilbara region of Western Australia have been consolidating manganese and iron ore operations. Pallinghurst Resources describes their strategy as a ‘steel feed corporation,’ producing all the products for steel milling operations. Also, Consolidated Minerals and OM Holdings are talking merger.
A new proprietary process for the treatment of manganese ore being developed by American Manganese may decrease the competitive advantage held by Chinese steel manufactures over the steel producers in the US. The new economic and environmentally friendly process can produce high quality manganese from low grade ore.
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