(2) Brazil and Russia Explanation: About 80% of the known world manganese resources are found in South Africa: other important manganese deposits are in Ukraine, Australia, India, China, Gabon and Brazil. The 96% of global production of manganese today is from barely 7 countries viz. CIS, RSA, Brazil, Gabon, Australia, China and India in decreasing order of tonnages raised annually. The global resource base is close to 12 billion tonnes including Indian reserve of about 240 million tonnes. Indian manganese ores are preferred by many as they are generally hard, lumpy and amenable to easy reduction.