manganese exported by gabon during the first quarter of this year rose 53 compared to same period the year prior even though production fell according to figures released monday by the central african nations government two million metric tons of manganese was exported between january and march up from 19 tons in the same period the year before the countrys ministry of economy said on thursday the ministry reported that the countrys production slumped 29 to 17 million metric tons in the first quarter compared with the same period of 2022 due to rail transport issues in the country manganese in gabon is mainly produced by the compagnie miniere de logooue or comilog a unit of french company eramet