Manganese is an essential component in the cathodes of several lithium-ion battery chemistries. Today, around 20–30% of our High-Purity Electrolytic Manganese Metal (HP EMM) production is dissolved in sulphuric acid by customers to produce liquid manganese sulphate — a critical feedstock for NCM-type precursor cathode active materials (pCAM).
To address the growing demand for manganese in the battery industry, MMC developed two proprietary methods for producing High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HP MSM):
- Metal to Crystal (MTX): This process builds on our existing HP EMM production by dissolving a portion of our output—produced using 100% renewable electricity—in sulphuric acid, and then crystalising it to create HP MSM crystals. The MTX process gives MMC a significant speed-to-market advantage and the flexibility to scale our production in line with demand from pCAM producers for non-Chinese sustainable HP MSM.
- Ore to Crystal (OTX): This long-term, sustainable, and lowest cost approach will utilize manganese ore as the starting material and through a combination of chemical and physical processes remove impurities from the manganese ore to produce HP MSM crystals at large scale, offering an even lower-carbon footprint product to meet future market needs.
We are currently in the early stages of constructing a 6,000-tonne per annum commercial HP MSM plant in Mbombela, South Africa, using the MTX process, scheduled to begin production in H1 2026. This brownfield expansion at our existing HP EMM site will significantly enhance our production capacity and market presence.
Three routes for adding manganese into CAM for batteries
MMC wants to offer both metal and high-purity sulphate to the market for batteries
Creating Sustainability
We are committed to operating in a sustainable manner and to working with our suppliers to ensure that they also commit to operating sustainably.
We aim to supply our customers with a safer, cleaner, more sustainable Manganese Sulphate product while also providing them the opportunity to avoid dealing with countries that have high levels of geopolitical tension, unrest and lack of transparency.
Our future plans
The demand for battery-grade manganese is expected to rise sharply with the growing adoption of electric vehicles.
Our Metal to Crystal (MTX) plant, initially sized at 6,000 tpa, is designed to meet near-term demand for high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HP MSM), with plans to scale up to 30,000 tpa. In the longer term, we aim to bring our Ore to Crystal (OTX) process online, starting with a ~30,000 tpa plant beyond 2030. The rollout of OTX capacity will align with the commercialisation pace of high-manganese battery chemistries such as LMR, NMx, and LMFP.
Our dual-track strategy reflects a commitment to supplying the market reliably and sustainably while enabling more affordable, lower-carbon batteries for a cleaner future.