Iron-manganese nodules mining

Anonymous) (2013) CENSIN resources The future of iron-manganese nodules. http //www. censin.com/manganese-nodules-mines/. Downloaded 5 July 2013... 

Another important consideration pertains to the metal content of the deposit. A deposit with a content of iron of about 20% can have little value as an iron ore since there are several deposits with 30-50% iron. Earlier, a copper ore with a minimum of 5% copper was regarded or accepted as a copper ore. However, today, thanks to advancements in technology, rocks with as little as 0.5% copper are mined and processed economically despite the fact that the price of copper, in comparison with those of some other metals, might be showing a downward trend. It is possible that in the future, other resources, which are not considered to be worth exploiting today (such as the manganese nodules or the clays), would become acceptable ores for manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum. 

Manganese ores are mined. On the ocean floor in the proximity of volcanoes there are so-called manganese nodules, which consist of oxides of manganese, iron and other heavy metals. They arise from deposition by microorganisms around a solid core (piece of mussel, shark tooth, etc.). 

Giovanoli R. and Arrhenius G. (1988) Structural chemistry of marine manganese and iron minerals and synthetic model compounds. In The Manganese Nodule Belt of the Pacific Ocean Geological Environment, Nodule Formation, and Mining Aspects (ed. P. Halbach). Eerdinand Enke Verlag, pp. 20-37. 

We should conserve and recycle metals whenever possible because it is far cheaper to produce metals from recycled products than from ore. Environmentally sound exploration of new reserves is also required. Ore nodules discovered on the ocean floor, for example, contain as much as 24 percent manganese and 14 percent iron. Significant quantities of copper, nickel, and cobalt have also been found in this submarine terrain. Perhaps mining of the ocean floor may one day replace the mining we now do on land. And in the not too distant future, perhaps the mining of metal-rich asteroids in space will become a reality. 

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