Manganese nodules mineralogical composition

Table 1.11 Average composition of Pacific Ocean nodules and mineralogical composition of manganese nodules.

The combination of physical and chemical characteristics of nodules make impossible the application of methods of physical beneficiation such as flotation and magnetic separation to produce concentrates of valuable metals, and so chemical processing must be used. Their processing also tends to be much more energy-intensive, vis-a-vis that of conventional land-based ores. Deep-sea manganese nodules are quite unlike any terrestrial ores, both with respect to their physical characteristics and to their mineralogical and chemical compositions new processes are, therefore, required. 

Burns, R.G. and Brown, B.A., 1972. Nucleation and mineralogical controls on the composition of manganese nodules. In D.R. Horn (Editor), Ferromanganese Deposits on the Ocean Floor. Proceedings of a conference held at Arden House in January 1972. NSF-IDOE, pp. 51-62. 

In the following section, the distribution, mineralogy and composition of manganese nodules from three of these regions is considered in order to illustrate the different modes of formation of nodules in different settings. A detailed comparison of the characteristics of the nodnles from these three regions has already been presented by Glasby et al. (1983). 

Glasby, G.P. and Thijssen, T., 1982. Control of the mineralogy and composition of the manganese nodules by the supply of divalent transition metal ions. Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie Abhandlung, 145 291-307. 

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