# South Africa's first HPMSM plant commissioned as manganese emerges as the battery mineral LMFP is making indispensable
> MMC's 6,000 tpa high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate Phase 1 went live June 11; Gabon's 2029 export ban and GEMCO's forced ramp alter seaborne supply; US North Star PEA pegs a 100,000 tpa project at $474.8M

**Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-11 · heads: The Long Game, Whose Money · 10 takes · 4 lenses · 7 regions

## Summary

[Manganese](/en/entity/manganese) Metal Company (MMC) commissioned Africa's first battery-grade high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) plant at Nelspruit, South Africa on June 11, 2026, with a Phase 1 nameplate of 6,000 tonnes per year feeding into lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode supply chains. The commissioning arrives as LMFP's share of Chinese EV battery installations reached approximately 18% in 2025, up from 9% in 2024, with CATL and BYD both expanding dedicated LMFP lines. Gabon issued a presidential decree in March 2026 banning export of unprocessed manganese ore from January 2029, requiring in-country processing, adding to supply-side uncertainty for seaborne ore. In the US, Electric Metals USA released a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its North Star Minnesota project in May 2026, projecting 100,000 tpa HPMSM capacity with $474.8 million in pre-production capital. South32's GEMCO mine in Australia, the dominant seaborne ore supplier, completed its ramp following 2024 cyclone damage and shipped 3.2 million wet tonnes in FY2026, but the ore-to-HPMSM processing premium held firm at $800-$1,000 per tonne above implied ore value as demand from the battery sector outpaced battery-grade refining capacity.

## The split

Chinese battery manufacturers and cathode producers (CATL, Hunan Yuneng) argue that LMFP represents the optimum battery chemistry for most passenger EVs: it eliminates cobalt and nickel cost and supply-chain risk, increases energy density over standard LFP, and uses abundant manganese rather than constrained lithium alone. Western battery analysts (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Roskill) note that battery-grade HPMSM at 99.8%+ purity is structurally different from the lower-grade electrolytic manganese metal or manganese ore that constitutes most of global production, and that the refining technology is concentrated in China, creating a secondary processing dependency analogous to the rare earth separation problem. South African mining industry commentary focuses on the Kalahari Manganese Field's competitive advantage: the Northern Cape hosts 40% of global manganese geological resources, and HPMSM processing at source would capture refining margin rather than exporting ore to China for processing. Gabon's export ban is contested by Eramet, which argues COMILOG needs development capital before it can fund in-country processing at scale.

## By the numbers

- 6,000 tpa, MMC Phase 1 HPMSM capacity at Nelspruit, operational June 11, 2026.
- 20,000 tpa, target for MMC Phase 2 HPMSM expansion.
- 18%, LMFP share of Chinese EV battery installations in 2025 (up from 9% in 2024).
- ~110,000t HPMSM, projected global battery-sector manganese demand by 2028 (Benchmark).
- January 1, 2029, Gabon's effective date for the unprocessed manganese ore export ban.
- 100,000 tpa, Electric Metals North Star HPMSM project nameplate (PEA, May 2026).
- $474.8M, North Star pre-production capital (PEA, May 2026).
- 3.2Mt wet tonnes, South32 GEMCO FY2026 production (Australia, world's largest seaborne ore exporter).
- ~40%, South Africa's share of global manganese geological resources (Kalahari Manganese Field).

## Why it matters

[Manganese](/en/entity/manganese) was largely absent from critical-mineral policy discussions through 2024 because it was not scarce: it is the fourth most commonly mined metal by volume, dominated by South Africa, Australia and Gabon. LMFP battery chemistry changed that calculus. LMFP uses roughly 7-8 times more manganese per kWh than NMC or standard LFP, and at battery-grade purity, the processing technology is concentrated in China. As LMFP captures share of EV battery production, manganese transitions from a steel-industry input into a battery-critical mineral with a processing-concentration risk. Gabon's 2029 export ban and South Africa's MMC Phase 1 commissioning represent independent attempts to capture downstream value from the world's largest manganese resource base, but both face the same constraint: battery-grade HPMSM refining know-how and capital are concentrated in China, and the 2029 deadline is tight for Gabon given COMILOG's current state.

## What to watch

- MMC Phase 2 HPMSM timeline and financing: whether a Western offtake partner (LG Chem, Panasonic, Samsung SDI) is secured to underwrite the expansion.
- LMFP adoption outside China: whether European or US battery gigafactories (Northvolt successors, ACC, Panasonic Kansas) specify LMFP chemistry, extending Western demand for HPMSM.
- Gabon's enforcement mechanism for the 2029 ore export ban and whether Eramet negotiates an exemption or accelerates COMILOG's in-country processing investment.
- Electric Metals North Star project: whether the $474.8M PEA converts to a Feasibility Study and secures DoE loan funding under the IRA 45X supply-chain framework.
- HPMSM price trajectory: whether battery-grade premiums over ore expand further as LMFP capacity scales in 2026-2027.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **Manganese Metal Company (MMC) (Press Release)** (South Africa, en) — MMC confirmed commissioning of its 6,000 tonne-per-year high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) Phase 1 plant at Nelspruit, South Africa on June 11, 2026. The facility refines manganese ore from the Kalahari Manganese Field ,  the world's largest manganese deposit ,  into battery-grade HPMSM for lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) and NMC cathode applications. MMC is the world's largest producer of electrolytic manganese metal, and Phase 1 represents the first battery-grade manganese processing capacity in Africa.
  Source: https://www.manganesemc.com/media/news/2026/06/hpmsm-phase1-commissioning-june-2026.html
- **Gabon Government (Presidential Decree 2026-089)** (Gabon, fr) — Presidential Decree 2026-089 prohibits the export of unprocessed manganese ore from Gabon effective January 1, 2029, requiring all producers to build in-country processing capacity to produce battery-grade or metallurgical-grade products before export. Gabon is the world's third-largest manganese producer and hosts COMILOG, a subsidiary of Eramet.
  Source: https://www.presidence.ga/decrets/2026/decret-2026-089-interdiction-exportation-minerai-manganese-brut.html
- **Electric Metals USA (PEA Press Release)** (United States, en) — Electric Metals USA released a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its North Star high-purity manganese project in Minnesota, showing a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tpa HPMSM with pre-production capital of $474.8 million. The PEA uses a base-case HPMSM price of $1,850/t and projects an after-tax NPV8 of approximately $680 million. The project targets the domestic US battery supply chain under IRA Section 45X advanced manufacturing production credits.
  Source: https://electricmetalsusa.com/news/2026/05/north-star-pea-results-100000tpa-hpmsm.html
- **Eramet (Annual Results 2025 / Q1 2026 Update)** (France, en) — 
  Source: https://www.eramet.com/en/finance/publications/annual-results-2025-manganese
- **South32 (FY2026 Guidance and GEMCO Update)** (Australia, en) — 
  Source: https://www.south32.net/our-business/energy-coal/gemco/fy26-production-guidance
- **Roskill / Wood Mackenzie (Manganese Sulfate Market Outlook 2026)** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://www.woodmac.com/reports/metals-manganese-sulfate-battery-market-2026/
- **FastMarkets (HPMSM price tracker)** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://www.fastmarkets.com/commodities/battery-raw-materials/manganese-sulfate-monohydrate-price-2026/

### China trade and commodities
- **South China Morning Post** (Hong Kong / China, en) — Reports that South32's GEMCO manganese mine in Australia, which ships the majority of its 3.2 million wet tonne annual output to China, accelerated its production ramp in early 2026 following Category 5 Cyclone Megan damage repairs in 2024, tightening seaborne supply availability for ex-China buyers. Notes that Australian manganese ore benchmark prices (44% Mn CIF China) declined roughly 18% from 2025 peaks as Chinese steel demand softened, but battery-grade HPMSM premiums over ore held firm at approximately $800-$1,000/t above implied value.
  > "GEMCO's ramp in 2026 adds seaborne manganese but the ore-to-HPMSM premium holds, as battery demand for manganese expands."
  Source: https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3285001/gemco-manganese-mine-ramp-forces-seaborne-market-reset-2026

### battery supply chain research
- **Benchmark Mineral Intelligence** (United Kingdom, en) — Quantifies LMFP's share of Chinese EV battery installations at approximately 18% in 2025, up from 9% in 2024, with CATL and BYD both expanding LMFP capacity; projects manganese demand from the battery sector to grow from approximately 35,000 tonnes HPMSM in 2025 to 110,000 tonnes by 2028. Notes that battery-grade HPMSM requires 99.8%+ purity, which only a small fraction of current global HPMSM production achieves.
  > "LMFP's share of Chinese EV battery installations reached 18% in 2025, and HPMSM demand is set to triple by 2028."
  Source: https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/manganese-lmfp-battery-demand-2026-outlook/

### Southern African mining trade
- **Mining Review Africa** (South Africa, en) — Contextualises the MMC Phase 1 commissioning as Africa's first battery-grade manganese processing facility; notes that South Africa's Northern Cape hosts approximately 40% of global manganese geological resources through the Kalahari Manganese Field; interviews MMC CEO who describes Phase 1 as a proof-of-concept for a planned Phase 2 expansion to 20,000 tpa HPMSM.
  > "MMC's June 11 HPMSM commissioning is Africa's first battery-grade manganese plant, with Phase 2 targeting 20,000 tpa."
  Source: https://www.miningreview.co.za/battery-metals/mmc-hpmsm-phase1-africa-first-battery-manganese-2026/

## Across the graph
- Related: [[lithium-market-2026-deficit]], [[cobalt-price-recovery-2026]]
- Entities: Manganese

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