Manganese

Samancor Manganese is the world’s largest integrated producer of manganese units and is 60 per cent owned and operated by BHP Billiton.

High-grade manganese ore is mined at our Hotazel Manganese Mines in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and at GEMCO on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory of Australia. Approximately 80 per cent of our ore production is sold directly to external customers, while the remainder is used at our own alloy smelters which include the Metalloys plant at Meyerton, South Africa and at the TEMCO plant in Tasmania, Australia. Through BHP Billiton Marketing, Manganese supplies ore and ferroalloys to steelmakers and alloyers across the globe, including key markets in China, Japan, South Korea, India and the European Union.

Our operations are strategically located in areas with seaborne access to world markets, delivering logistical advantages to our customers. We have access to dedicated deepwater ports allowing the use of large cape-size vessels to further build on regional logistic advantages.

Manganese is an indispensable element in the manufacturing of steel, which in turn is an essential material in many industries including construction and transportation. Its use in the steel making process results in increased strength, resistance and machinability.

Tom Schutte, President, Manganese

Tom was appointed President, Manganese in August 2010.  Prior to his appointment, he was President, Marketing, a position he has held since December 2005. He was previously Chief Financial Officer Commercial, Marketing Director Manganese, Commercial and Development Manager with Samancor, Tom has been with the Group for over 20 years.

With approximately 5500 employees and contractors, our Manganese operations produce a combination of ores and alloys from sites in Australia and South Africa. We hold our manganese interests through a 60 per cent holding in Samancor Manganese Proprietary Limited, with the remaining 40 per cent held by Anglo American. BHP Billiton operates all of Samancor’s operations. 

Manganese Australia

Groote Eylandt is Aboriginal land that covers an area of approximately 2260 square kilometres, located in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The mining operation at Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), which was commissioned in 1965, extracts high-grade manganese ore using open-cut, strip mining methods from its 84 square kilometres mining lease on the Western side of the island. After the ore has been mined, the area is backfilled with overburden, topsoil is added, and environmental rehabilitation takes place using native grasses and trees. Ore quality is carefully monitored throughout all stages of production, and process control and ore blending are carefully controlled to ensure product quality and consistency.

GEMCO accounts for more than 15 per cent of the world’s high-grade ore production with approximately 70 per cent of its production exported around the globe. One of the GEMCO key assets is its own Port facility owned and operated by GEMCO in close proximity to the Asia market.

Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) is a ferroalloy smelter located 50 kilometres north of Launceston at Bell Bay on the coast of Tasmania, Australia. The operation began production in 1962 and remains the only manganese ferroalloy plant in Australia. It incorporates four furnaces and a sinter plant and produces high-carbon ferromanganese, silicomanganese and sinter.

TEMCO has become an efficient, low cost, world-class producer of manganese alloys with some 75 per cent of its production exported to more than 50 customers in 14 countries, and the remaining 25 per cent supplying the domestic steel market.

Manganese South Africa

Wessels, which was commissioned in 1973, is an underground mine of hydro-thermally enriched manganese ore of a high grade. The variety in grade of ores enables Manganese to offer a range of products suitable for all applications.

Mamatwan, which was commissioned in 1964, is an opencast operation. The ore lends itself to technologically advanced beneficiation processes. The dense-medium separation plant beneficiates the ore prior to sintering and during the sintering process the ore is calcined, resulting in a physically strong and chemically stable product.

Metalloys is located in Meyerton, roughly 55 kilometres south of Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. With seven electric furnaces, three of which are amongst the largest in the world, Metalloys produces high-carbon, medium-carbon ferromanganese and silicomanganese.

The flexibility and integrated nature of the operation, as well as economies of scale and its relative proximity to Hotazel Manganese Mines, makes Metalloys one of the largest and most competitive global producers of high quality manganese alloys.