Manganese continues to play a pivotal role in modern industrial economies, with metallurgical-grade material underpinning global steel production and high-purity manganese becoming increasingly vital for next-generation battery chemistries. Although around 90% of global manganese still goes into steelmaking, demand for battery-grade manganese is projected to grow steadily as EV manufacturing and energy-storage systems expand. This rising dual demand is driving producers to seek beneficiation solutions that reduce fine manganese tailings by producing an additional saleable product from previously discarded material. 

Drawing on its extensive global experience in gravity concentration, Multotec has supplied a modular heavy mineral beneficiation solution to a manganese producer in West Africa. Engineered from the outset as a fit-for-purpose system, it is designed to recover high-grade manganese from fines material to maintain profitability through downward commodity cycles.

The processing opportunity

Miners traditionally target the attractive lumpy manganese fraction, which is easier to beneficiate and readily saleable into the export market. The finer -1 mm fraction, however, has often been discarded or stockpiled. Yet during periods of high demand or commodity price volatility, this fine material represents a substantial opportunity to unlock additional value from the resource, particularly because the material has already been mined and crushed, meaning most of the cost has already been absorbed.

By adopting the correct gravity separation technology based on feed properties of the ore, such as particle size, particle shape and feed density, miners can benefit from fine and ultra-fine manganese ore into a saleable product that meets offtake requirements.

Spiral technology as a strategic solution

Spirals remain one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods for beneficiating manganese ore, particularly when dealing with fine, high-density material. Spirals offer a low-energy, low-maintenance solution that can be configured to target both recovery and product quality, making them well suited to the variable ore characteristics common in African manganese deposits.

Menzi Xulu, Senior Process Engineer at Multotec, explains: “Multotec’s SC range of spiral concentrators are suited to fine, high-density mineral separation, which is a key requirement in manganese beneficiation. Our SC20 spirals are typically used in the roughing and scavenging stages, where the focus is on maximizing recovery from the feed. The SC21 spiral is then applied in the cleaning stage to upgrade the manganese and achieve the required product specification.” Over and above Multotec’s SC20 and SC21 fines spirals, an UX7 spiral was developed for the beneficiation of ultra-fine heavy minerals that have traditionally been lost to tailingS. The UX7 is efficient in the recovery of ultra fine heavy minerals including Manganese roughing and scavenging.

This combination of roughing, scavenging, and cleaning spirals allows producers to recover more manganese from the entire orebody, including fines.

A fit-for-purpose, cost-effective modular fines processing solution

To recover fine manganese cost-effectively, even during low commodity prices, Multotec deploys its modular and mobile heavy mineral test plants. The system combines several of Multotec technologies.

Wilna Hoffmann, General Manager for Business Development at Multotec says: “Fitted with Multotec cyclones, spirals, and pumps, the unit can treat 40 tons/hour of fine material in just three stages to produce a saleable manganese product. It is also operator-friendly and designed as a basic but cost effective solution that can easily be transported and commissioned quickly.”

A manganese producer in West Africa turned to Multotec to maximise recovery from its -1 mm fine tailings, which had previously been overlooked. Although the client had purchased a Multotec heavy-minerals unit years earlier, it remained idle for nearly three years. Multotec recommissioned and optimised the unit in just four days. Following this, the unit ran at full capacity, efficiently recovering a 47% high-grade manganese super-concentrate from the 26% manganese in the feed, unlocking significant additional value.

Across Africa, the potential for deploying these modular test units continues to grow, thanks to their low capital and operating cost, ease of use and ability to recover value from fines, offering a practical way to unlock the continent’s mineral resources and strengthen mineral value chains.