Manganese Nodules

Manganese nodules have been found in every ocean but are most common in the pacific ocean.

Manganese nodules. Minor constituents include copper nickel and cobalt making the nodules a potential ore of these valuable elements. These bean to potato sized nodules are currently the target of exploration and research mostly focused on the equatorial pacific ocean. The nodules concentrate minerals from siliceous oozes and from the water column. These nodules with a size ranging from that of a potato to a head of lettuce contain mainly manganese as their name suggests but also iron nickel copper titanium and cobalt.

Manganese nodule s are pebbles or stones about the size of walnuts that are built of onionlike layers of manganese and iron oxides. As nodules can be found in vast quantities and contain valuable metals deposits have been identified as having economic interest. Manganese nodules are usually located at depths below 4000m and are composed primarily of manganese and iron and elements of economic interest including cobalt copper and nickel and make up a total of around 3 by weight margolis and burns 1976. Manganese nodules and cobalt rich crusts on sediment starved deep ocean floors generally 4 to 5 5 kilometres deep concretions rich in manganese cobalt and nickel can form around small fragments of debris and organic material.

Manganese nodules an additional potential source of manganese is the ferromanganese nodules and crusts that occur on the seafloor in many parts of the world s oceans. The metal lumps which most often look like pancakes are formed of layer upon layer of metal ore that. Polymetallic nodules also called manganese nodules are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. However it was not until after wwii that nodules were further studied in detail for their ability to adsorb metals from seawater.

Manganese and iron oxide mineral deposits formed on or just below the sediment covered surface of the deep ocean seabed by accretion precipitation of oxide layers around a nucleus thereby.