Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from DSDP Site 161, Leg 16 (Cores 16-161-1 and 16-161A-14)

DSDP 161 is located on the lower west flank of the East Pacific Rise about midway between the Clipperton and Clarion fracture zones which define the boundaries of a large structural block in the eastern Pacific. The site is about 4,000 km west of the present crest of the Rise. It is located near the northern edge of a zone of thick Cenozoic sediments which marks the general location of the equatorial zone of high biological productivity.

Description, geochemistry and growth rate of buried nodules from the Central Indian Basin

Buried nodules from siliceous sediments in the central Indian Basin are morphologically variable and mineralogically consist of d-MnO2 and incipient todorokite. Compositionally they are weakly diagenetic. The sediment coarse fractions (>63 µm) at different depths show variable abundances of micronodules, volcanic glass shards and biodebris. Dissolution of biodebris increases and abundance of micronodules decreases with increasing depth. Enrichment in Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Co, together with a decrease in organic carbon in the sediment column, may result from diagenetic metal remobilization. Diagenetically remobilized trace metals might have been utilized for the growth of micronodules over the buried nodules.

(Table 2, page 156), The comparison of heavy elements in manganese nodules

The comparison of Mn/Fe, Co/Ni, Co/Fe, Ni/Mn, and Cu/Fe ratios is presented and it is noticed that Co/Ni and Ni/Mn ratios of nodules fairly coincide with those of coexisting sediments. This agreement suggests that Mn, Ni, and Co are accumulated in both nodules and sediments at about the same rates. According to the calculation of Somayajulu et al. similar consideration is also applicable to Cu. Results are, however, implying that Cu co-precipitates with Fe, rather than Mn.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from various ship expeditions in the Atlantic Ocean from 1876 until 1911

The greater part of this Monograph is devoted to detailed descriptions of 1426 samples of deposits from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean stored in the Challenger Office, Edinburgh, which had been collected during thirty-five cruising expeditions between 1857 and 1911. The remaining part discusses the results of the work. The work of examining and describing in detail this abundant mass of material was in progress when the late Sir JOHN MURRAY met his death in March 1914. By that time about three-fourths of the descriptive work had been completed under his supervision. Sir John's trustees arranged for the completion of the descriptive work by Mr Chumley, and this was done in the Challenger Office during the two succeeding years. Later, after he had removed to Glasgow, Mr Chumley prepared the notes discussing the results. The trustees have pleasure in recording, on the suggestion of Mr Chumley, the courtesy of Dr G. W. Lee of the Geological Survey of Scotland, for help in determining many of the rarer mineral particles contained in the deposits.

(Table 2, page 607) Composition of manganese nodules in cores from Leg 16, Deep Sea Drilling Project

Buried manganese nodules or encrustations were encountered at five drill sites of Leg 16. Surface nodules were also sampled at two sites. With few exceptions, nodules within any one drill hole are fairly uniform in composition and are similar in composition to samples obtained previously from the eastern equatorial Pacific. Geochemical and paleontological evidence suggests that at least one of the buried samples was in situ when found and that at least one other was not. The remaining nodules may have fallen from the sediment surface to the positions in which they were found during the drilling process.

Chemical composition of manganese micronodules from expedition VA-05/1 in the Pacific Ocean

A radioisotope energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) system has been used on board the German research vessel "Valdivia" during an exploration expedition in the northern equatorial Pacific in 1973. The instrumentation used consisted of an X-ray detection system incorporating a 30 mm2 effective-area Si (Li) detector with a measured energy resolution of 195 eV for Mn K alpha X-rays, standard nuclear electronics, a 1024-channel analyser and a data read-out unit. The X-ray spectra in the manganese-nodule samples were excited by a 30-mCi 238Pu source. The six elements Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn were analysed on board. Precision values for the analyses were less than 3% for Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn and about 5% for Co. A total amount of 350 analyses was carried out during a one-month cruise. Average contents of 190 analysed whole manganese-nodule samples from all the sampling sites of the covered area were 23.3% Mn, 6.7% Fe, 0.23% Co, 1.16% Ni, 0.94% Cu and 0.10% Zn. The average content of the base metals expressed as the sum of the Co, Ni, Cu and Zn contents was 2.48%. A linear relationship between Mn and Ni in all analysed samples, including whole manganese-nodule samples, zones of manganese nodules and manganese crusts, was observed. The Mn/Ni ratio calculated by regression analysis was 23.0. Zonal variations of the chemical contents of the six elements in the manganese nodules were found. A size classification of the manganese nodules has been suggested. Geochemical correlations of Cu and Ni versus Mn/Fe in the investigated samples are given.

Chemical composition of manganese nodules and a ferromanganese crust using different methods

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Kennecott Corporation conducted a number of activities in the evaluation of manganese nodule deposits as well as in their possible hydrometallurgy.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the SS Tschernomoretz expedition in the Black Sea in 1890-1891

Professor N. Andrussow, of Juriew (Dorpat) sent to the author a series of the deposit-samples collected in the Black Sea during the Russian explorations in 1890 and 1891 in the steamships Tschernomoretz, Zaporojetz, and Donetz. These deposits were submitted to careful microscopical examination and chemical analysis.

Chemical composition of nodules from two locations in the Pacific Ocean using different methods

Manganese nodules recovered in the Pacific Ocean by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and by DeepSea Ventures Ltd. are studied for their chemical composition using X microprobe and X-ray fluorescence methods.

Description of manganese deposits from the Papago mine, Saipan, Mariana Islands

Saipan, situated about 15° N. and 146° E., is one of the larger and more southerly of the Mariana Islands. The 15 small islands of this chain are strung along an eastwardly convex ridge for more than 400 miles north to south, midway between Honshu and New Guinea and about 1,200 miles east of the Philippines. Paralleling this ridge 60 to 100 miles further east is a deep submarine trench, beyond which lies the Pacific Basin proper. To the west is the Philippine Sea, generally deeper than 2,000 fathoms. The trench coincides with a zone of negative gravity anomalies, earthquake foci occur at increasing depths westward from it, and silica- and alumina-rich volcanic rocks characterize the emergent island chain itself. The contrast between these features and those of the Pacific Basin proper to the east is held to favor the conclusion that the Mariana island arc and trench define the structural and petrographic front of Asia.