2026 Annual Conference - May 26-28 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio photo

The world's largest event dedicated to manganese!

We are thrilled to invite you to the IMnI 2026 Annual Conference, IMnI flagship event!  Get ready for three powerful days of insights, high-level dialogue, and unmatched networking with the leaders shaping the future of our industry.

📆 Date        Tuesday, May 26 to Thursday, May 28
📍 Place       Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

⚙️ Theme    The Shifting Dynamics of Manganese: Navigating Complexity

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, we offer a wide range of packages to spotlight your name. Get in touch with Mr. Laurent Montcoutié, IMnI Executive Director, at laurent@manganese.org

Discover the key moments and insights from last year, read the 2025 press release here

For information about the IMnI upcoming events, contact us at imni@manganese.org or follow us on LinkedIn or X

To optimise your stay in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, please click the banner below to contact the IMnI official travel agency, BLUMAR Congressos & Eventos:

 

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IMnI 2026 Annual Conference is scheduled from Tuesday, May 26 to Thursday, May 28 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

When registering to the IMnI conferences, make sure that you are covered by your company’s travel insurance during your trip and stay abroad.

 

Marcos Troyjo

Pr. Marcos Troyjo

Professor Marcos Troyjo is a Distinguished Fellow at INSEAD and a Transformational Leadership Fellow at the University of Oxford. He will be the 2026-2027 Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT.

He is a Global Advisor of the European Investment Bank and a member of management or advisory Boards of Inditex, Minerva Foods, União Química, Bosch and Global Neighbours.

Professor Troyjo plays key leadership roles in multilateral finance, government, business, academia, and the public debate on economic development.

He served as Brazil’s Deputy Economy Minister and Special Secretary for Foreign Trade & International Affairs. He was a President of the New Development Bank (NDB) — and the first westerner to lead a multilateral organisation headquartered in Asia.

He co-founded and was co-director of the BRICLab at Columbia | SIPA, where he taught international economics.

An economist, political scientist, and diplomat, he holds a Master’s and a PhD in international relations from the University of São Paulo and pursued postdoctoral studies at Columbia University. 

Professor Troyjo authors books on development, technology and global affairs.

Kevin Fowkes

Kevin Fowkes has worked as an economist and consultant in the ferroalloy industry since 1998.  His company AlloyMetrics provides bespoke consulting services to the ferroalloy industry. 

Kevin’s previous roles in consulting include having been a Research Director for Wood Mackenzie, and a consultant for both Hatch and CRU International.  He is also a former employee of two ferroalloy producing companies; he was a Business Development Manager for the Ukrainian manganese producer Privat Group, and a Senior Market Analyst for the Norwegian silicon producer Elkem.

Tanisha Schultz

Tanisha Schultz

Tanisha is a Senior Research Analyst at Project Blue, where she specialises in the manganese and chromium markets. She leads the stainless steel team and manages ferroalloy research in South Africa, with a strong understanding of how regional production dynamics influence global supply.

Tanisha’s expertise spans market analysis, production and cost modeling, and geopolitical risk assessment. She monitors developments from upstream mining through refining and logistics to end-use demand, particularly in sectors linked to the energy transition and advanced materials. She brings valuable insight into how global energy and trade shifts—such as rising electricity costs, carbon regulation, and shifting export policies—are reshaping cost structures and competitive positioning through the ferroalloys supply chain.

In addition, Tanisha contributes to research on CO₂ emissions and sustainability in extractive and refining industries, building on her academic background in geosciences.

Madelein Tood

Madelein Todd

Madelein Todd is a Marketing Executive at Manganese Metal Company (MMC) in South Africa. With 27 years of experience in the manganese industry, including technical, analyst, sales, and marketing roles, she has a deep understanding of the global manganese value chain.

Madelein specializes in high purity manganese applications for lithium-ion batteries, a market where MMC has been a key supplier for well over a decade. Her expertise in product specifications, process options and their corresponding ESG impacts, as well as market dynamics and pricing mechanisms provide valuable insights into this highly opaque industry.  She has a solid understanding of the Critical Minerals landscape and its pinch points, as related to the Global Energy Transition. 

Known for her positive and collaborative approach, Madelein fosters strong relationships on behalf of manganese and South Africa. 

Dr Doreen McGough

Dr Doreen McGough has over 23 years' work experience in the industry, 17 of which have been spent dealing solely with manganese. She was HSE Director of the International Manganese Institute (IMnI) from 2009-2017, where she had the responsibility of enhancing industry’s understanding of the toxicological/ecotoxicological profile of many manganese-based substances and the corresponding risks and benefits associated with their use.

As the Institute’s chief scientist, Dr McGough published over 12 peer-reviewed articles concerning manganese. Alongside her work at the IMnI she worked for the Manganese REACH Administration (MARA) on lease as its main scientific advisor where she eventually became the Executive Director in 2017 to Present.

As the Executive Director of MARA, Doreen manages and works with over 12 health/safety and regulations consulting firms worldwide made of some 25 renowned scientists. Their work mainly focuses on supporting the metal industry towards smooth regulatory compliances.

An Anglo-Cameroonian, Dr McGough holds a BSc in biology, an MSc in environmental pollution control, and a doctorate in environmental toxicology from the University of Nottingham (UK) where she began her career as a lecturer.  

Alex Puissant

Alex Puissant, a Brussels journalist, is a prominent international conference facilitator. As a foreign correspondent, editor and news anchorman, he has ensured television news coverage, including live comments and interviews, from around Europe and the USA.

As an independent conference moderator, he has chaired hundreds of sessions and panel discussions with speakers as diverse as Vaclav Havel, Margaret Thatcher, and Bill Gates. He has worked for global corporations and associations as well as European Union institutions and the United Nations Organization in New York.

Alex Puissant, a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in the City of New York, is the author of “The press, a voice on behalf of the citizen?” on social responsibility of the media, published on behalf of the King Baudouin Foundation. 

 

OM Holdings Limited ("OMH" or the "Group")

is a manganese and silicon smelting company. We are engaged in the business of trading raw ores, smelting, and marketing of processed ferroalloys. With over 30 years in the industry, OMH is listed on both ASX and Bursa Malaysia and has operations accross Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa.

Today, the Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of manganese ores and ferroalloys and seeks to be the ferroalloy supply partner of choice to major steel mills and other industries.

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Autlán

is a Mexican company engaged in several markets of MANGANESE and ENERGY, among other industrial sectors. The company was founded in 1953 and has been recognized as a reliable supplier because of its high-quality products and commercial service.

Regarding manganese, Autlán is the largest producer of manganese ferroalloys in the Americas, the most important producer of manganese ore in North and Central America and one of the few producers of Alkaline EMD in the western world.

Autlán is focused on fulfilling the manganese needs from the steel industry as well as the specialized manganese requirements from the alkakine & dry battery, ceramic and micronutrient producers. The company owns three manganese mining units and three ferroalloy plants in Mexico, as well as an EMD plant in Spain.

 

 

 

Maringá Ferro-Liga S.A.

Within more than 40 years of experience, Maringá Ferro-Liga is the leading manganese ferroalloy producer in South America. Based in São Paulo - Brazil, with a capacity over 100.000 mtpy of SiMn and HC FeMn, including specialty grades. Maringá is also very proud to have the world’s lowest CO₂ emission intensity – 1,07 tCO₂eq/tliq.alloy*

We source 100% of our manganese ore locally, from certified suppliers and two captive mines, and are currently building a new sinter plant.

Our energy supply is 100% renewable, including eight company-owned small hydropower plants. We manage over 5,000 hectares of productive eucalyptus forests and operate three bioreductant production plants. Around 60% of our reductants come from biocarbon, which emits significantly less CO₂ than coke

*2024 Scope 1 and 2 – verified by Bureau Veritas

Maringa Ferro Liga logo

 

 

Traxys: Sourcing the Metals and Minerals that Move the World

From exploration and mining to trading and marketing, we provide critical sourcing solutions for the ferroalloy, metal, mineral, mining and energy industries that power modern life.

We Are More Than a Raw Materials Trading Company

We are a leader among peers and a trusted partner to our clients. With a global footprint at the center of the raw materials industry, we source the metals and minerals that make the modern world possible.

We work at the center of the global metals and minerals industry.

Our sourcing, logistics, financing, and marketing services move metals and minerals to the global market faster, more efficiently, with lower working capital and less risk. From source to market, we provide our customers with personalized services along the entire supply chain and help them achieve the best returns. 

Pushing for a cleaner, friendlier future.

At Traxys we are at the forefront of the green energy transition. By making trading in green metals a priority, we’re accelerating the transition to a clean energy future. 

We are committed to our values.

Our values are the source of our strength and the pride in our work. Our global teams’ expertise, professionalism, confidence, and experience are the foundation of our company. 

Traxys

 

 

 

 

Ore & Metal Company Limited

is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Assore Group, providing sales, marketing and logistics services. Our expertise, high-quality products, on-the-ground presence, and relationships have distinguished us from the competion for over 90 years.

We are an agile team with a global footprint. We have the best-in-class marketing offices in locations worldwide such as North America, Europe, Africa, India, and Asia.

Over the past decade, we have strenghthened our position through the strategic acquisitions of our agency partners. This collaboration has enabled us to establish a robust on-the-ground presence in global markets. Together, we offer comprehensive and integrated services within the mining sector including marketing, selling commodities, managing consignments, and providing logistics and shipping solutions covering rail, road, port, and ocean freight. We also handle commodities' storage, processing, and delivery to meet our customers' specifications and quality requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

World Metals & Alloys FZC (WMA)

Established in 2006 in the UAE, World Metals & Alloys (WMA) is a leading supplier with a strong global presence through its subsidiaries and partners. Renowned for its top-tier customer service, WMA ensures strategically stocked products across key locations, making it a preferred supplier for clients worldwide.

Specializing in the supply of bulk commodities, WMA offers manganese ore, iron ore and coal/coke along with ferro alloys produced by its group manufacturing units in India and supplies wide range of steel raw materials to end users across the globe.

Committed to industry leadership and innovation, WMA continuously adopts the latest standards and products, strengthened by affiliations with IFAPA, IMni, BIR, ISRI, and more.

Backed by a highly skilled team, WMA is dedicated to delivering top-quality products on time while fostering long-term partnerships built on trust and reliability.

Website: https://wmalloys.com/

WMA logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK)

is a proud South African company committed to mining manganese ore in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, situated in the Northern Cape Province. The Kalahari manganese fields, where we operate, are acknowledged as the largest manganese ore deposit in the world, showcasing a remarkable natural treasure globally.

Established in 2005, UMK has proudly been 51% black-owned and is the fourth largest manganese exporter in South Africa. Our mineral reserves for open-pit mining are more than sufficient to sustain this responsible mining operation for over 30 years!

UMK logo

 

 

Berry Alloys Limited

was founded by Mr. Dashrath Kumar Gupta with a vision to make Berry Alloys Ltd an international renowned steel and alloy company having customer trust, dedicated employees and social responsibility.

Berry Alloys Ltd. is one of the leading producers of “Bulk Ferro Alloys” in India. Their Factory is located in Vijaynagaram District of Andhra Pradesh, which is located in Southern Part of India. Geographically, location of their plant gives them advantage to spread their  products in domestic & international markets. Their proximity to Vishakhapatnam Harbour Port gives them economical viability in Exports.

Berry logo

Companies already registered:

  • 3K Elite Services

  • AlloyMetrics

  • ArcelorMittal Brasil SA

  • ArcelorMittal Long Carbon LATAM

  • Berry Alloys Ltd.

  • Bihar Foundry & Castings Limited

  • Black Canyon Ltd.

  • CCMA, LLC

  • Compagnie Minière du Littoral (CML)

  • DPRC SL

  • Eramet SA

  • Exxaro Resources Limited

  • Felman Trading Europe AG

  • Galmet SpA

  • Glencore do Brasil

  • Glencore International AG

  • Glencore South Africa

  • Global Manganese

  • GoodEarth | GoodRock

  • Hascor International Group

  • IMnI

  • JFE Mineral & Alloy Company Ltd.

  • JFE Shoji Corporation

  • Jupiter Mines Limited

  • Kalahari Minerals Marketing AG

  • Kaybee Industrial Alloys Pvt. Ltd.

  • Kimpe SAS

  • LS Alloys

  • Maa Enterprises

  • Manganese Metal Company (MMC)

  • Manganese REACH Administration (MARA)

  • Maringá Ferro Liga S.A.

  • McCloskey by OPIS

  • Minerais US

  • Mitsubishi Corporation RtM

  • Mitsui & Co.

  • Morlexium Minerals & Metals Ltd

  • Multitecnica

  • Nexus Ligas de Manganês

  • Omni Industries

  • Ore & Metal Company Ltd.

  • Ore & Metal Europe SAM

  • Project Blue

  • QVC Group

  • Ramnik Power & Alloys Pvt. Ltd.

  • Satka Group

  • Sharp Ferro Alloys Limited

  • Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd.

  • SPS Steels Rolling Mills Ltd.

  • Sumitomo Corporation

  • Super Smelters Limited

  • Traxys Africa Trading Pty Ltd.

  • Traxys DMCC

  • Traxys Europe S.A.

  • Tshipi e Ntle Manganese Mining

  • United Manganese of Kalahari (Pty) Ltd.

  • Vedika Metals Pvt. Ltd.

  • Vibrantz Technologies

  • World Metals & Alloys (FZC)

  • ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc

Prgoram overview
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