L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

imports from (average annual percent of total manganese imports in
2006–2009): South Africa – 35%; Gabon – 19%; China – 11%;
Australia – 8%; and other – 27%. The total includes manganese ore
(with average annual share of Gabon – 54%; South Africa – 17%;
Australia – 12%; Brazil – 6%; and other – 11%) and ferromanganese
(South Africa, 52%; China, 21%; Republic of Korea – 7%; Mexico
– 5%; and other – 15%). 9
The EU dependence on imports is 91%. In 2007, 128,000 tons of
manganese were produced within the European Union, by Hungary
(40% of EU production), Romania (38%) and Bulgaria (22%). In the
same year imports added up to 1.3 million metric tons, which is 84%
of the consumption of EU member states. Together they produced
some 32,195 tones of manganese (content). Major African suppliers
to the EU were South Africa (426,000 tons, which constituted
31,8% of the total imports of the Union) and Gabon (337, 000 tons
and 25,1% respectively). 10
Manganese deposits found in the RSA are extremely lean and
would prove too costly to use with the current production standards.
Import of African manganese is a sensible alternative. Today major
deposits of the manganese ore are in China, India, Ghana, Brazil,
South Africa, Gabon, Morocco, USA, Australia, Italy, and Austria.
Gabon, the biggest supplier of the high–quality pyroxide ore, accounts
for up to 20 percent of world export. However, South Africa
to this day (April 108) accounts for 39 percent of all U.S. demand.
All imports of this material from Africa to this superpower meet
nearly 50 percent of the demand.
In Russia, manganese is also a strategic material in a very short
supply. Russia imports 1.6 million tons of marketable manganese ore.
At the moment Russian industry requires 6.0 million tons of manganese
ore (or between 1.7 million and 1.8 million tons of concentrate).
This means that more than 90 percent of manganese consumed in
Russia comes from other countries. Bringing this ore from Africa is
by far costlier than bringing it from other places near home from former
Soviet countries. Although there is an objective interest in cooperation
with Africa in developing manganese ore deposits, it is not
great enough to warrant Russia's rivalry with the EU and America. 11
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