(Table 1) Contents of tungsten and other metals in Fe-Mn nodules from the Pacific Ocean

Tungsten contents in iron-manganese nodules and crusts from different parts of the World Ocean, as well as its relationships with a number of chemical elements are under consideration. A trend to correlation of tungsten with Fe, Ti, W, Pb, and Co is noticed. Comparison of tungsten contents in the nodules and host sediments indicates its low geochemical mobility.

Chemical characteristics of coal pebbles and Barzas-type coals

Coal pebbles found in 1994 in the Greham Bell Island (Franz Josef Land Archipelago) are made up of Barzas-type cuticular liptobiolith. The coal belongs to the initial stage of catagenesis and is characterized by high content of cutinite (up to 70%) with very low reflectance (Ro = 0.1%). Maceration products show some tegillate elements of Arthropoda and individual Devonian spores. It is supposed that plant cuticle and Arthropoda exocuticle are present in this coal. Obtained data suggest presence of Paleozoic rocks in the sedimentary sequence, although they are not yet recovered. These data complement available information on distribution of specific Devonian coals and allow to have a new insight into zoogenic material involved in coal formation.

Investigation of manganese nodules from the Southern Tasman Sea

Two manganese nodules having a high clay content, a low Mn/Fe ratio, and low contents of valuable metals (Ni 0.25%, Cu 0.17%, Co 0.06%) were recovered in a grab sample during a short geological cruise in HMAS Kimbla in the southern Tasman Sea in May 1979. Five stations were occupied. Free-fall grabs recovered sediment or pumice from four stations; nothing was recovered from the fifth. The carbonate compensation depth in the region is about 4500 m. Reddish brown clay, but no manganese nodules, was recovered in the central southern Tasman Sea, from depths of 4900-5100 m. The nodules, together with grey calcareous mud, were obtained from a depth of 4300 m, farther to the northwest, near Gascoyne Seamount (250 n. miles SE of Sydney). The results suggest nodules with high metal values are likely to exist only in the broad and deep depression in the central southern Tasman Sea southeast of Gascoyne Seamount, where sedimentation rates are low and oxidising conditions prevail. Whether nodule fields are present or not will only be resolved by considerably more sampling.