Characterisation, beneficiation and agglomeration studies were carried out to develop a utilization strategy for typical Indian low grade manganese ore fines. The major mineral phases found are pyrolusite, hematite. goethite, clay, feldspar and quartz. QEMSCAN and Sink-Float studies suggested that 40% of manganese minerals are in liberated form, whereas 30% are locked with iron minerals. Classification followed by two-stage high intensity magnetic separation (1.7 & 1.1 Tesla) process can recover 35-40% material of ferromanganese grade with 47-49% Mn recovery. The recovered material was briquetted adding molasses (7%). cement (3%) and bentonite (1%) to use in the submerged arc furnace for metallurgical applications. A cost effective process flow sheet has been developed to utilize these fines. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.