Eramet's shares slide as Gabon plans manganese ore export ban
Shares in Eramet fell sharply on Monday after Gabon announced an export ban on unrefined manganese from 2029, potentially upending the French mining group's massive export-orientated production of the steel ingredient in the West African country.
Gabon's plan, announced by the government in a weekend statement, comes as several African countries — including Guinea with bauxite, Zimbabwe with lithium, and Mali and Tanzania with gold — seek to move from exporting raw material to local processing.
Demand for manganese, used in steel production and increasingly in electric vehicle batteries, has grown globally. Eramet is the main shareholder in Gabon-based manganese mining firm Comilog, whose Moanda mine is the world's biggest for manganese.
Eramet said in a statement that it noted the Gabonese government's intention to ban crude manganese exports from January 1, 2029 and would continue to work with the authorities "in a spirit of constructive partnership and mutual respect".
The group will aim to safeguard the 10,460 Gabonese jobs sustained by Comilog and Comilog railway transport unit Setrag, it added. Eramet shares fell as much as 5.5% before paring losses to trade about 4% lower by 8am GMT.
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