n January of the current year, manganese ore shipments from Australia's Port Hedland totaled 96,393 metric tons, decreasing by 23.07 percent from 125,291 metric tons in December and down 52.33 percent compared to the same month of 2013, according to the monthly data released by the Port Hedland Port Authority.
In January this year, China was the only export destination for manganese ore shipments from Port Hedland, with shipments to China increasing by 36.55 percent month on month and down 28.72 percent year on year. Port Hedland handles production from mines owned by BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Manganese in the manganese ore-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.