Highlights

• CRIMM signed a four-party strategic pact with Tianyuan, Kebang, and industry partners to build China's first intelligent electrolytic manganese demonstration line using AI, automation, and data analytics.
• Tianyuan targets cutting production costs by 2,000 yuan per ton within three years through smart mining, clean manufacturing, and real-time process optimization.
• The alliance extends beyond metallurgy into next-gen EV battery materials including Mn₃O₄, high-purity manganese sulfate, and LMFP cathodes, strengthening China's energy transition supply chain.

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Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Signs Strategic Pact with Tianyuan, Kebang, and Industry Association to Build China’s First Intelligent Electrolytic Manganese Line.

An “Intelligent Electrolytic Manganese Line” refers to a digitally integrated, automated production system for making electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) — a key input for steelmaking, battery cathodes, and specialty alloys — using AI-enhanced process control, sensor networks, and data analytics to boost efficiency, cut emissions, and reduce cost.

A National Push to Reinvent Manganese Production

On October 18, 2025, Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (opens in a new tab) (CRIMM) signed a four-party strategic cooperation framework with Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry Group, Xinjiang Akto Kebang Manganese Manufacturing Co. (a West Mining subsidiary), and the Electrolytic Manganese Innovation Committee of the China Metallurgical Mining Enterprises Association (represented by Hunan Manganese Consulting Service Co.). The signing ceremony in Zhongning, Ningxia, marked a milestone in China’s coordinated effort to modernize its manganese sector through automation, green transformation, and material innovation.

The agreement signals China’s intent to digitalize the full manganese production chain—from ore to advanced materials—linking research institutions with industrial giants.

Lower Costs, Higher Intelligence

CRIMM Chairman Zhuo Xiaojun called the collaboration “a concrete step to align metallurgical science with national strategy,” focusing on three pillars:

1. Process innovation in electrolytic manganese,
2. R&D in manganese-based new materials, and
3. The ‘Three Transformations’—intelligent, digital, and green industry upgrading.

Tianyuan Chairman Jia Tianjiang, whose company is the world’s largest electrolytic manganese producer, set an ambitious target: cutting per-ton costs by 2,000 yuan within three years through automation, smart mining, and clean manufacturing. The partners pledged to co-develop the nation’s first intelligent electrolytic manganese demonstration line, integrating data analytics and AI for real-time process control and energy optimization.

From Metallurgy to Battery Materials

Beyond cost efficiency, the pact extends into next-generation battery materials—notably Mn₃O₄ (manganese tetroxide), high-purity manganese sulfate, and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), key cathode ingredients for EV batteries. The group will jointly advance manganese slag detoxification and reuse, a long-standing environmental challenge in the sector, while exploring solid electrolytes and photovoltaic recycling for future applications.

Kebang Manganese’s leadership noted the deal’s importance to the “Three Transformations” (智能化、智慧化、绿色化), while industry consultant Tan Liqun highlighted the initiative’s alignment with the 2021 Industrial Upgrade Plan, now entering its implementation phase.

Strategic Implications

This partnership fuses four competitive edges: Tianyuan’s global resource base, Kebang’s policy and resource advantages, CRIMM’s R&D depth, and the Innovation Committee’s industry coordination power. It creates a vertically integrated, nationally aligned model that links resource extraction, process technology, and market deployment—precisely the type of “whole-chain collaboration” Beijing is encouraging in strategic minerals.

For Western observers, this alliance underscores how China is now leveraging manganese—not just rare earths—as a critical enabler of its energy transition supply chain, with industrial intelligence and cost reduction as dual levers of global competitiveness.

TheOrganization

The Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM) (opens in a new tab) is state-owned through its parent company, China Minmetals Corporation (opens in a new tab). It became a wholly owned subsidiary of China Minmetals in 2009, following approval by the State Council. China Minmetals is a central state-owned enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) (opens in a new tab). 

Disclaimer: This report is based on coverage from Chinese state-owned and affiliated industry media. Information should be independently verified before forming business or investment conclusions.

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