Georgian Manganese Ferroalloy Plant reduces silicomanganese production by 60% due to global market conditions

The Georgian Manganese, a producer and exporter of ferroalloys and manganese ore, on Wednesday said its Zestaponi Ferroalloy Plant in the country’s west was cutting silicomanganese production by 60 percent, citing a “continued decline in global market prices and reduced demand”.

Starting this month, six out of the plant’s 11 operating furnaces will be shut down, resulting in a substantial decrease in monthly output from 20,000 tonnes to 8,000 tonnes.

Giorgi Tatishvili, the Financial Director of the company, acknowledged a “persistence of the market crisis”, emphasising demand for ferroalloys remained at a “minimum”.

The crisis in the ferroalloy market is driven by challenges in the Chinese real estate sector and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Although silicomanganese prices reached a favourable point in mid-summer 2024, it was only a temporary improvement”, he said.

Gocha Kurdadze, the Director of the Zestaponi Ferroalloy Plant, highlighted the plant’s commitment to retaining its entire workforce despite the production cuts.

We are aiming to keep a full staff of employees with the hope that we will eventually be able to restore the factory's production to its previous average level each month”, he said.

The reduction in production follows a similar move by the plant in September of last year, when production was slashed by 75 percent under comparable market conditions.