<p>In the present study, the premixed lean-grade manganese ore (MnO₂) and hematite ore (Fe₂O₃) with varying mineralogical compositions were subjected to reduction using hydrogen. The reduction of the premixed pellets occurred in a horizontal tube furnace at temperatures ranging from 500&#xa0;°C to 900&#xa0;°C, with duration varying from 15 to 90&#xa0;min. The manganese to iron (Mn/Fe) ratios in the pellets were maintained at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 and pure hydrogen (99.98%) was introduced at flow rates between 0.5 L/min and 1.5 L/min throughout the reduction process. The pre-reduction of premixed lean-grade Mn/Fe ores was found to be maximum at 800&#xa0;°C and 900˚C, and the percentage of reduction was obtained about 92.5% (MnO), 94.09% (FeO), 92.88% (MnO), and 94.86% (FeO), respectively. Optimum conditions were achieved at a reduction temperature of 800&#xa0;°C, a reduction time of 60&#xa0;min, a gas flow rate of 1 L/min, for a maximum Mn/Fe ratio of 0.7 in the premixed pellets. Several kinetic models were validated by experimental results for H₂ reduction, revealing that the apparent activation energy for MnO was 16.94&#xa0;kJ/mol and for FeO it was 27.75&#xa0;kJ/mol. In addition, % hydrogen utilization was recorded at 25.97% at 800&#xa0;°C. This offers significant advantages for reducing the carbon footprint by reduction of premixed lean-grade Mn/Fe ore using hydrogen gas, which has a huge impact on sustainability in the metallurgical processing of ferromanganese.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>