China is tightening its grip on the global supply of processed manganese, a move that has unnerved a range of companies worldwide that rely on the versatile metal, including the largest electric car makers.
China produces more than 90 percent of the world’s manganese products, ranging from steel reinforcement additives to battery-grade compounds, according to the Wall Street Journal on May 22. Since last October, dozens of Chinese-owned manganese processors, which account for most of the world’s production capacity, have joined a state-sponsored campaign to create a “manganese innovation alliance” with goals and initiatives laid out in a planning document.
These initiatives include centralized control over the supply of key products, price coordination, reserves and mutual financing networks.
Such controls have triggered price spikes in global metals markets, hampering steelmakers and increasing concerns among automakers. China’s metals industry already dominates the processing of most of the world’s raw materials for rechargeable batteries, including cobalt and nickel. Three-quarters of the world’s lithium-ion batteries and half of all electric vehicles are made in China.
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