Why are electric furnaces commonly used to produce ferromanganese?

Electric furnaces are commonly used to produce ferromanganese because the reduction of manganese oxides to metal is a complex thermodynamic process that requires very high temperatures. Specifically, while higher manganese oxides can be reduced to manganous oxide (MnO) by carbon monoxide, the subsequent reduction of this lower oxide to metallic manganese can only be achieved by carbon at elevated temperatures.1

Electric furnaces provide the necessary heat source to reach these high temperatures required for the smelting and reduction process. While ferromanganese can also be produced in a blast furnace, electric furnaces are often preferred for their ability to manage the complex chemical interactions involved in smelting, such as the reduction of manganese oxides by carbon.21