Manganese and chrome are the raw materials for the steel industry. With the development of iron and steel industry and available abundant resources in the country, there is huge potential of manganese, chrome ore and ferro-alloy industry in India. The demand for manganese, chrome ore and ferro-alloy depends on the outlook of the steel industry, which in turn is dependent on growth of overall economy. The National Steel Policy of India 2017 aspires to achieve 300 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity by 2030. The policy also projects that raw material requirement of manganese ore will be 11 million tonnes and chrome ore will be 5 million tonnes by 2030-2031. This would translate into additional consumption of manganese and chrome ore other than iron ore as essential raw material for steel making. Similarly, Ferro-alloys are one of the important inputs in the manufacture of alloys and special steel. The growth of ferro-alloy industry is thus directly linked with the development of the iron and steel industry in India.

India is the fifth largest producer of manganese ore in the world with total resources of manganese ore 503.62 million tonnes, out of which, 75.04 million tonnes are reserves and the balance 428.58 million tonnes are remaining resources. During 2022-23, the annual production of manganese ore in the country has increased to 2.8 million tonnes from 2.69 million tonnes in 2021-22. In the dynamic competitive global market and to create value for the stakeholders, producers need to focus on productivity, technology and quality improvements, as well as aggressive exploration strategies for locating and defining additional reserves. All these necessitate huge investment as well as induction of state-of-the-art exploration, mining, processing and metallurgical technologies in the Indian manganese ore industry. Globally, manganese ore requirement is increasing due to its significant use in manufacturing of batteries in electric-vehicles. The importance of manganese ore is emerging as a vital material in future of electric vehicle industry with the global commitment for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and leveraging renewable energy sources.

India is the fourth largest producer of chrome ore in the world, with domestic production 3.56 million tonnes and 3.78 million tonnes in 2022-23 and 2021-22 respectively. Resources of chrome ore in the country are estimated at 332 million tonnes with 79 million tonnes as reserves and 253 million tonnes as remaining resources. With a focused and progressive strategy, it is possible for India to further enhance the production of chrome ore converting the resources into reserves.

Although India has been a major producer of ferro-alloys globally, but during the year 2022-23, production of ferro-chrome was reduced to about 0.8 million tonnes from 1 million tonnes produced in 2021-22. In case of ferro-silico manganese also, production during 2022-23 got reduced to 0.26 million tonnes from a level of 0.35 million tonnes in 2021-22. The import of ferroalloys was about 0.39 million tonnes during 2022-23.This is despite having total production capacity of 5.15 million tonnes of the ferro-alloys industry in the country. Clearly, there is a huge competition from the global market so the industry must utilize its full potential and rise to new levels of with advanced technological competitiveness, utilization of green technology and enhanced productivity.  The domestic ferro-alloys industry needs to be promoted through a mix of progressive market development strategies and suitable fiscal measures to offset imports.

This event will provide a unique platform for the manganese / chrome ore and alloy producers, consumers, technology suppliers, as well as others to discuss technological developments, legislative issues, and research and market trends. Producers, consumers, buyers and traders will have the opportunity to discuss and review supply and demand related issues in open forums and private meetings. Suppliers of exploration, mining processing equipment and metallurgical technologies will have an opportunity to make presentations on manganese/chrome ore and alloy to the stakeholders.