The domestic electrolytic manganese market has stabilized slightly after a minor decline recently, with a lingering weak and sluggish market sentiment. Although the price drop has slowed down without continuous sharp declines, market pessimism remains prevalent, and downward pressure is still prominent.

As a key fundamental material supporting the stainless steel and new energy battery industries, electrolytic manganese is standing at a critical industrial transformation stage. Driven by tightening environmental policies, accelerating technological iteration, steady traditional demand and booming new energy consumption, the industry features shrinking supply, structural optimization and rising price center, with its strategic value growing increasingly prominent.

As a core vital raw material for manganese hydrometallurgy, sulfuric acid dominates production costs and process selection across the entire product chain. Major manganese products, including electrolytic manganese, diversified manganese sulfate, and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), adopt distinct production processes with varied acid consumption structures.

Recently, China's manganese-based battery materials market has been characterized by cost-driven divergence and gradual demand recovery. Battery-grade manganese sulfate and trimanganese tetroxide have strengthened on the back of rising raw material and freight costs; electrolytic manganese dioxide remains stable; and lithium manganate is steady amid volatile lithium carbonate prices, awaiting a demand rebound in April.

SMM March 20 News: According to an official announcement from Qingdao Manganese Series Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), it invites qualified bidders to submit sealed bids for the selenium dioxide project for electrolytic manganese production. Component requirements: SeO₂ ≥ 98%. Total tender quantity: Approximately 169 tons. Bid deadline: 9:00 AM (Beijing Time), March 23, 2026.

This week, China’s domestic manganese-based battery materials market has shown a differentiated operation trend. The price of battery-grade manganese tetroxide has slightly declined, the price of electrolytic manganese dioxide has slightly increased, and lithium manganate has maintained a weak balance of supply and demand.