Ferromanganese (high-carbon, medium-carbon and low-carbon)

01

Choose the carbon class and grade

ASTM A99, Standard Specification for Ferromanganese, covers ten grades: standard ferromanganese Grades A, B and C; medium-carbon ferromanganese Grades A, B, C and D and a nitrided grade; and low-carbon ferromanganese Grades A and B. Each grade must meet its limits for manganese, carbon, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen, and all grades must meet limits for arsenic, tin, lead and chromium. Inch-pound values are the standard. [1]

Eramet, a manganese alloy producer, says steel accounts for 90% of manganese consumption and that manganese is added to steel as ferromanganese or silicomanganese, raising strength and wear resistance and acting as a deoxidiser. It describes its plants as producing refined ferromanganese and silicomanganese. [3]

Editorial note: name the specification and grade (for example ASTM A99 medium-carbon Grade B, or the equivalent national grade) rather than a generic carbon range, so that the residual-element limits travel with the order. [1]

Give the supplier the specification and grade, manganese and carbon ranges, maximum silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen and residuals (arsenic, tin, lead, chromium), size range and allowable fines and oversize, friability expectation, packing (big bags, drums, bulk), lot size, sampling and analysis method, and certificate requirements.

02

Set impurities, size, friability and trade paperwork

ASTM A99 requires the material to be supplied in standard sizes with stated tolerances and friability ratings. [1] The US tariff lines quoted in the USGS 2025 manganese summary classify ferromanganese by carbon: more than 4% carbon (7202.11.5000, 1.5% ad valorem), more than 2% but less than 4% (7202.11.1000, 1.4%), more than 1% but less than 2% (7202.19.5000, 1.4%) and 1% or less (7202.19.1000, 2.3%). [2]

USGS reports US ferromanganese imports for consumption of 223,000 to 330,000 t a year from 2020 to 2024 (310,000 t estimated for 2024) and reported consumption of 300,000 to 339,000 t, with net import reliance of 100% of apparent manganese consumption. Import sources for ferromanganese in 2020–23 were Malaysia 24%, Australia 16%, Norway 15%, South Africa 14% and others 31%. [2]

Editorial note: because the tariff line changes at 1%, 2% and 4% carbon, ask the supplier to state carbon on the certificate to the precision customs will need for your shipment. [2]

03

Ferromanganese producers on the listed pages: certificate, size analysis and sampling

Ask any supplier for the grade certificate with full chemistry, size analysis and the sampling method used. [1]

04

Check the Indian Standard IS 1171 limits when a lot is offered to it

IS 1171:2011, the Bureau of Indian Standards specification for ferromanganese, defines the alloy as 65–95% manganese by mass and sets carbon classes at up to 0.5% (low carbon), 0.5–2.0% (medium carbon) and 6.0–8.0% (high carbon). Its clause 4 says the standard covers 13 grades "as specified in Table 1", but Table 1 lists 11 (five high-carbon, three medium-carbon and three low-carbon), the 11 shown in the table below [4]. It lists what the buyer must state when ordering: quantity, constitution of consignment, material name, grade, size range, and analysis-report and packing requirements. [4]

Size is ordered by class, from 100–315 mm down to material up to 3.15 mm; for size classes 1, 2 and 3 the −3 mm fraction shall not exceed 5%, and no piece may exceed 1.15 × the upper size limit in two or three directions. In a graded lot, the manganese content of the melts may not differ by more than 3% absolute. [4]

Editorial comparison: clause 3.1.2 defines medium carbon as 0.5–2.0% C, but the Table 1 medium-carbon grades allow 1.0–3.0% C [4]. A lot between 2% and 3% carbon would sit in the US tariff line for more than 2% but less than 4% carbon [2]. Order by grade designation and write the maximum carbon into the contract.

05

Carbon class, manganese, Si/P/S/N, residuals, size and friability

Every row is an ASTM A99 requirement; the carbon class row also decides the US tariff line, which changes at 1%, 2% and 4% carbon. [1] [2]

06

Manganese, carbon, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and size for a ferromanganese order

Chemistry rows refer to the A99 grade limits or the IS 1171 table above; density, melting range, bulk density and moisture are not given in the reviewed sources and must come from the producer. [1] [4]

07

Send the grade, limits and size data together

Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.

Spec/grade: [ASTM A99 grade or equivalent]
Mn/C: [ranges]
Limits: [Si; P; S; N; As; Sn; Pb; Cr]
Size: [mm; fines; oversize]
Packing: [big bag; drum; bulk]
Lot/sampling: [t; method]
Paperwork: [certificate; HTS line]
Quantity: [t per year]

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