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By William D. Siapno

Mining the deep ocean by the year 2000 may seem far fetched. The year 2000 is but a decade away, a scant 10 years. Remember, the youngsters of today will grow up in a little more than a decade and rebut the wisdom of the ages, especially the traditions of their elders. Rude perhaps, but none the less a fact of life. Ocean mining exhibits many of these same traits. We should all brace ourselves for some rude shifts in our rapidly moving society. Major shifts in economics, politics, and social orders are the rule of the day. Communism is in retreat, our own economic structures chaotic. So in this moment of cataclysmic change, a shift in the international market place of mineral resources should not be a great surprise.

Jan 1, 2011

By William D. Siapno

Approximately a century lapsed between the time nodules were discovered and the beginning of commercial exploration in the early 1960's. A period of rapid development of exploration and mining technology ensued over most of the next two decades. In recent years advancement has been sharply curtailed. This paper discusses the constraints inhibiting nodule mining and some developments that could aid in overcoming certain difficulties. Specifically, the greatest single constraint is economic. With few exceptions mineral markets are badly depressed. Present projections for development of nodules are for the late 1990's or beyond. However, the U.S. awarded exploration licenses in mid-1984 and more recently boundaries of license areas have been released. These conditions promote cooperation among organizations engaged in deep ocean mining. Survey data, and where appropriate some data products, have been exchanged between various consortia. The present hiatus in at-sea activities provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the best means to proceed. This period of quiescence offers a rare moment to distill the meaningful values of an era of hectic activity to permit more efficient development in the future.

Jan 1, 1985

By Carl Zapffe

THE object of the Bradley process is to free manganese oxide from its associated gangue and separate the contained iron oxide by dissolving the manganese and precipitating it from the solution. 'The fundamental features of the process are : making. both 1 a manganese ore and an iron ore; effecting a separation of manganese .and. iron by means of selective roasting; leaching- the manganese from the roasted ore by using ' ammonium sulfate; precipitating the manganese by using the ammonia gas generated during leaching; fixing the precipitate by oxidizing with air; breaking down and reforming the ammonium sulfate, so that daily very little additional ammonium sulfate beyond that originally charged into the system is required; washing the manganese precipitate and the iron-silica residue and evaporating the liquor to conserve the dissolved salts in the moistures of these two products and 'to reduce the sulfur content,; drying the precipitates; magnetic wet-concentration of the iron-silica residue; sinteriny the manganese-and .the' iron-concentrates.

Jan 1, 1929

Henry M. Parks, director of the Oregon. Bureau of Mines and Geology, has supplied the following information regarding a recent discovery .of manganese ore in Jefferson County, Oregon, about seventeen miles southeast of the railroad at Eagle Point, a station on the P. & E. Railway. The occurrence is about five miles southeast of Lake Creek Post Office and near the confluence of Lost Creek with the south fork of Little Butte Creek. The manganese ore occurs as psilomelane and pyrolusite, disseminated through a flat bed of volcanic tuff breccia; at a point where the bed was penetrated by a churn drill hole, the thickness of the ore-bearing stratum was 30 ft. Development thus far has consisted of open-cuts, one of which exposes a face about 40 ft. high and 75 ft. broad. Other smaller open-cuts have followed the bed for a. distance of 400 yards. The nodules of manganese mineral vary from a maximum of 25 to 50, lb. down to the size of beans and others as small as mustard seed. These grains, when clean, average from 55 to 58 per cent. manganese. A 12-ft. groove sample in the face of the main open-cut yielded 14.86 per cent. manganese. The peculiar occurrence of the manganese nodules should present but slight difficulty in concentration. A small experimental mill was built last winter, comprising gyratory crusher, rolls, and jigs, which,

Jan 8, 1918

By E. C. Harder

INTRODUCTION THE situation in the United States, at the present time, regarding the supply of manganese ores and alloys of manganese is one of great seriousness and is likely to become increasingly so while the European war continues. The two principal iron-manganese alloys, ferromanganese and spiegeleisen, are indispensable in steel manufacture, being used extensively in the Bessemer and openhearth processes.. Spiegeleisen, the lower alloy, contains between 15 and 25 per cent., and ferromanganese, the higher alloy, between 60 and 80 per cent., of manganese. Besides manganese the alloys contain iron and carbon. On the market ferromanganese is usually quoted on the basis of 80 per cent. manganese, and spiegeleisen on the basis of 20 per cent. manganese. The consumption of ferromanganese has been increasing during recent years at the expense of spiegeleisen, because larger quantities of the latter must be used to ac-complish the same purpose with the result that the amount of carbon introduced with it into the molten metal is frequently injuriously great. Manganese ore proper, in the form of manganese dioxide, is used extensively in many chemical industries, especially for oxidizing purposes. It is also used for the manufacture of both wet and dry electric cells and in the manufacture of paints and dyes. The manganese ore used in this country has been derived hitherto from three principal sources:. Southern Russia, Southern British India and East Central Brazil. The following tables show the quantity of manganese ore imported from these countries, and (for comparison) the domestic production, during 1912, 1913 and 1914. The imported manganese ore has been used largely in the manufacture of iron-manganese alloys and in addition large quantities of the alloys themselves have been imported, chiefly. from Great Britain, Germany and other European countries.

Jan 5, 1916

By E. C. Harder

J. T. SINGEWALD, JR., Baltimore, Md.-I might say a word further in regard to the Miguel-Burnier district. I am sorry Mr. Harder is not here. I had hoped to be able to ask him a few questions in regard to some of the features of those deposits. This Miguel-Burnier district is the other district that I referred to that lies in the State of Minas Geraes. The interpretation that Mr. Harder gives to, these deposits is the same as that given by Harder' and Chamberlin in a previous paper, and that is that they consist of lenticular deposits of sedimentary origin in a series of rocks that also include lenses of limestone, but they seem to think that the manganese ores occur at a definite horizon and at a horizon different from the limestone. We found that the manganese ores occur at several horizons, as also do the limestone lenses, and the limestone masses are of the same shape as the manganese orebodies, so that our own feeling was that these manganese ores simply represent concentrations within the zone of oxidation formed as. a result of decomposition and replacement of this limestone. To the east of Miguel-Burnier there is a big bend in the railroad which cuts through, at right angles to the strike, this series of rocks. Here is shown very well both the local character of the limestone lenses and the local character of the manganese lenses in that, though the distance across the bend is only a couple of hundred yards, the limestone and. ,manganese lenses do not match up at all, and it also shows plainly that both occur at more than one horizon.. Consequently there is no reason why the manganese ore could not represent alterations of this limestone. The mine workings do not as yet give very definite information on this point in that they are all comparatively shallow and within what would be the zone of oxidation so that what they will grade into below that depth, we do not know. On the other hand, the character of the ore suggests that it may, represent such -a product in the zone of oxidation in that it tends to be quite earthy; whereas, if the manganese had been there originally as such it would have undergone the same metamorphism that the other rocks have undergone and one would have expected that it would have been converted into a hard manganese ore that would today stand out pretty much as do the iron ores of that same region and not have the soft, earthy texture which is a prevailing characteristic.

Jan 4, 1917

By Felicia F. Peng

The naturally occurring aged manganese oxide coated on the granular media was found to have a catalytic effect on the removal of low concentration of Mn(II) (-1 ppm) from drinking water. Applying this principle, a manganese removal technique was developed for removal of higher concentration of Mn(II) (-100 ppm) from mine drainage by using various aged filter media and synthesized granular media with manganese oxide coatings. Laboratory-scale continuous granular media column experiments were conducted to assess the feasibility of manganese oxide-coated granular media for Mn(II) removal from synthesized mine drainage. The removals of Mn(II) were evaluated as a function of operation parameters including solution pH, manganese oxide concentration coated on the media, interstitial velocity, and oxidant concentration of influent. Higher solution pH and/or higher manganese oxide concentration promoted the removal of Mn(II) on the oxide-coated granular media under low interstitial velocity. Addition of sodium hypochlorite as an oxidant in the influent resulted in continuously regenerated oxidized surface to serve as the catalyst for Mn(II) oxidation reaction on the surface of oxide-coated media.

Jan 1, 1994

By R. N. Reddy

The Pseudo capacitance of layered type Mn02 electrode material for electrochemical capacitors (EC's) was investigated. MnO2 was synthesized in our laboratory. Mn02 was prepared from heating of KMn04 at 300°C in air. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) experiments were carried out using three electrode system, Saturated calomel electrode as reference electrode, platinum mesh as a counter electrode, and MnOz composite material mounted in a platinum mesh used as a working electrode. Two kinds of composite working electrode materials were used, one was mixture of MnOz and 25 wt% acetylene black, while the other was MnOz, 25 wt% acetylene black and 25 wt% carbon. All the experiments were carried out at 25OC. A maximum specific capacitance of 130 Fig and 118 Fig were observed at the scan rate of 2 mV/s and 20 mV/s respectively in 1M KC1 for composite electrode made with carbon. Results obtained in this study are compared with that of other electrode materials.

Jan 1, 2002

By D Pilone

The Tyrrhenian micro-nodules, findable at low depths (200/600 m under s l) are a reasonable reserve of manganese. They can be easily and cheaply recovered but do not contain valuable metals as in the case of oceanic nodules. In this work a hydrometallurgical process for manganese recovery from Tyrrhenian nodules is presented. The studied treatment includes the following operations: magnetic enrichment, reducing leaching, leach liquor purification and electrowinning . The study shows that the most important step in the process is the preliminary manganese enrichment. It can be done directly on the platform reducing not only the transport cost, but also the residue mud in the metallurgical plant. The leaching parameters such as status and size of nodules, temperature, composition of leaching solution and S/L ratio have been investigated. After purifying the leach liquor by iron precipitation as ammonium jarosite , the conditions to electrowin manganese have been investigated. The yields of both manganese leaching and iron precipitation together with current efficiency and specific energy consumption in the electrowinning step are given.

Jan 1, 2000

By Robin Belley

Outline Introduction Wabush Mines HistoricalBackground Mine and Concentrator at WabushMines High Intensity Magnetic Separators (HIMS) Development of the Manganese Removal Process Pilot Plant Testing Phase Manganese Removal Line 1 Coming Phase: Manganese Removal Line 2 Manganese Concentration Process Development Historical Background 1847: Creation of the Cleveland Iron Company1850: Opening of its first iron ore mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan 1965: Beginning of Wabush Mines at Scully Mines, Wabush, Labrador. 1980-1990: Questions raised about how to exploit Scully high Mn Ore (> 2%)Part of the available ore is not saleable due to too high a level of pyrolusite (MnO2) Adding this ore to the resources would be valuable (longer mine life and lower stripping ratio) 1990s: Testwork for Manganese removal Many different processes are studied over more than a decade High Intensity Magnetic Separators (HIMS) are identified as the best technology for Mn removal 2007: Pilot Mn removal line installed Testing carried out through 2007-2008 First Production Line is ordered (2008) 2009: Cleveland Cliffs (now Cliffs Natural Resources)acquire the remaining part of Wabush Mines 2010: Mn Removal Line 1 construction & commissioning Summer 2011: Mn Line 2 Construction

May 1, 2011

By Chu Yong Cheng

Manganese is one of the main impurities in the recovery of base metals from their ores. This is especially true when laterite ores are processed using the pressure acid leach (PAL) process. The use of intermediate precipitation, solids/liquid separation and re-leach in the three Western Australian nickel laterite plants to separate nickel and cobalt from manganese and other impurities makes these processes complicated and costly in capital and operation. The research work carried out by the solvent extraction (SX) group at the A J Parker Cooperative Research Centre for Hydrometallurgy (CSIRO Minerals) has led to the development of direct solvent extraction processes to separate nickel and cobalt from manganese and other impurities. The simplicity of the process flowsheets and the expected savings in capital and operating costs are the major advantages of the new direct solvent extraction processes over the existing processes. By using a new synergistic organic system, Versatic 10 / dccyl-4-pyridinccarboxylatc ester, with a pilot plant leach solution from BHP¬Billiton (after iron precipitation), the metal values (Ni and Co) together with zinc and copper were separated from manganese and other major impurities (Mg, Ca and Cl) in the first SX circuit. The co-extracted manganese, magnesium and calcium were easily scrubbed out. The extraction and stripping kinetics of the metals with the new synergistic organic system were very fast and the synergistic system was found to be chemically stable. pH-extraction isotherms of metals with D2EHPA showed that the extraction order as a function of pH50 was Zn2+ > Ca2+ > Mn2+ > Cu2+ > Co2+> Ni2+> Mg2+. Semi-continuous test work with a cobalt pilot plant leach solution from Peko Rehabilitation Project Pty Ltd and a synthetic solution to simulate a concentrated laterite leach solution from BHP-Billiton showed that manganese, together with calcium, copper and zinc can be separated from nickel, cobalt and magnesium. This led to the development of another direct solvent extraction process to separate manganese and other impurities from nickel and cobalt and to recover nickel and cobalt from leach solutions. A project was initiated by HiTec Energy Ltd to recover manganese from waste laterite leach solutions using SX technology and to further purify it to produce high purity electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) for the high quality alkaline battery industry. Batch tests were conducted to select a suitable organic system for the extraction of manganese in terms of selectivity and extraction and stripping kinetics. A total of eight organic systems were tested using waste laterite processing solutions. A Versatie 10 / synergist system showed very promising results. By using the synergistic system, high manganese recovery would be obtained, fewer SX stages would be required and a higher A:O ratio could be used in extraction, resulting in a smaller organic inventory and lower capital costs. The risk of gypsum formation is also minimised with the synergistic system. Keywords: Solvent Extraction, Manganese, Laterite, Synergist

Jan 1, 2004

Discussion of the paper of ALBERT SAUVEUR, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 93, September, 1914, pp. 2439 to 2449 G. K. BURGESS, Washington, D. C.-This very instructive contribution by Professor Sauveur to our knowledge of that puzzling substance, Hadfield's manganese steel, should not only be read in connection with the paper of Messrs. Hopkinson and Hadfield referred to by Professor Sauveur (Bulletin No. 87, pp. 513 to 530, March, 1914); but one should also have in mind, as throwing much additional light upon the questions raised, two papers recently presented before the Iron and Steel Institute, the one by Sir Robert Hadfield (Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute No. II, 1913) on Heating and Cooling Curves of Manganese Steel, the other by Messrs. Hadfield and Hopkinson (ibid., No. I, 1914) treating of the Magnetic and Mechanical Properties of Manganese Steel. We then have brought together for this substance, the thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties as well as the resulting microstructure, for the definite heat treatments described, and in particular after long annealing between 500° and 700° C. Sir Robert Hadfield and Professor Hopkinson see in the properties found for manganese steel (of C = 1.25 and Mn = 12.5 per cent.) a demonstration of the untenableness of the allotropic theory of iron, whereas Professor Sauveur reaches the contrary conclusion, that some of the facts observed can be explained only in terms of the existence of beta iron in steel of this composition. There is another possible hypothesis: namely, that these several series of experiments shed no light on the subject of the allotropy of iron, or at least as regards the existence of beta iron. However heretical it may sound, I am inclined to this last belief.

Jan 4, 1915

By Albert Sauveur

AT the New York meeting of the Institute, February, 1914, Professor Hopkinson and Sir Robert Hadfield presented an important paper entitled Research with Regard to the Non-Magnetic and Magnetic Conditions of Manganese Steel.1 Any contribution on manganese steel by its discoverer necessarily carries with it much weight and is entitled to serious and close consideration. The momentous discovery of that alloy by Sir Robert Hadfield some 30 years ago was the signal for great activity in the field of alloy steels; and the remarkable results obtained in the last two decades probably constitute the most important modern advance in the metallurgy of steel. The authors of the paper referred to above are unable to reconcile with the allotropic theory the interesting results obtained by them in heat treating manganese steel. When they speak of the allotropic theory, however, I understand that they have more especially in mind the existence of beta iron. It is not my understanding that they question the occurrence of iron in the two allotropic varieties known as gamma and alpha. If I am wrong, I trust they will correct me. A careful consideration of the experimental results reported and discussed by the authors leads me to believe that on the contrary they can be very satisfactorily explained in terms of allotropy and that, in the light of our present knowledge, they cannot be accounted for in any other way. The physical properties of non-magnetic manganese steel described by the authors are those pertaining to iron-carbon alloys in which iron is present in the gamma condition, or, in other words, to austenite. The metal is then characterized by great tenacity and ductility and low elastic limit, while its hardness, mineralogically speaking, is not excessive, but of a special kind termed "tough hardness" by the authors. Even when subjected to the restraining influence of a large amount of manganese and of considerable carbon, however, relatively rapid cooling

Jan 9, 1914

By M D. Urbani

HiTec Energy Ltd has been conducting research since 1996 into novel process routes for the treatment of low-grade and waste manganese sources for the production of high value and high quality electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) for the alkaline battery market. HiTecÆs approach is to treat previously unsaleable manganese deposits and mine site tailings using a novel sulfur dioxide leach route, followed by purification and electrowinning to generate the sought-after EMD product by an environmentally superior processing route to those presently practiced throughout the world today.HiTec Energy Ltd expects to be in commercial production with its Stage 1 facility in Kalgoorlie in the last quarter of 2004 for the production of 12 500 tpa EMD. With this production facility being adjacent to a laterite nickel producer with available waste manganese units, the opportunity arose for HiTec to combine its existing technologies with processes (that will be discussed in this paper) to turn two waste by-products into products that are used for high-tech purposes.HiTec Energy Ltd and the Parker Centre have had a collaborative research relationship for a number of years in areas involving EMD and battery related technologies. Meanwhile the solvent extraction (SX) group of the Parker Centre (CSIRO Minerals) has developed SX processes to separate manganese from nickel and cobalt. A project was initiated by HiTec Energy to recover manganese from waste laterite leach solutions using SX technology. Batch tests were conducted to select a suitable organic system for the extraction of manganese in terms of selectivity and extraction and stripping kinetics.A total of eight organic systems were tested by determining pH isotherms of metals using a laterite nickel process waste stream. Two organic systems, the Versatic 10 and Versatic 10/synergist systems, were chosen for further test work with Shellsol D70 chosen as the diluent for both systems.The Versatic 10/synergist system would be advantageous over the pure Versatic 10 system because fewer SX stages are required, resulting in a smaller organic inventory and lower capital costs. The risk of gypsum formation is also significantly lower with the synergistic system.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. W. Jensen

EXTENSIVE research and development was performed on the manganese-copper vibration-damping alloys to determine the relationship between the properties of the alloys and variations in composition, fabrication, Mid heat treatment. Mn-Cu alloys with unusually high specific damping capacity, 20 to 25 percent at a stress of 5,000 psi, have also the following useful properties: Tensile strength, 90,000 to 110,000 psi; yield strong, 60,000 to psi; elongation, 20 to 25 percent; hardness, 90 Rockwell B; and fatigue limit at, 28,000 to 30,000 psi. Both standard and special methods of testing were employed to obtain data on strength, modulus, hardness, resistivity, dilatation, micro-structure, crystal lattice, and damping capacity. The extensive tabular and graphical data on these properties are presented for alloys containing 50 to 85 percent as quenched d solution) and after various aging treatments. Expansion coefficients for all Mn-Cu solid solutions are graphed and a dilatometer study of contraction during aging is reported. Although high damping capacity is associated with aging to precipitate a-Mn from solid solution, with a cubic-tetragonal transformation and with the occurrence of antiferromagnetic ordering in Mn-Cu alloys, a tenable theory of the damping mechanism has not been reached.

Jan 1, 1965

By Frederick M. Becket

SHORTLY after the Armistice there appeared a few references to numerous attempts that had been made to produce steel without the aid of manganese, or at least with manganese in abnormally low percentage. Some years later, during two consecutive days of train travel, I had excellent opportunity to read Sir Robert Hadfield's book, entitled "Metallurgy-Its Influence on Modern Progress," and also his paper, "The Metal Manganese and Its Properties : Also the Production of Ferro-Manganese and Its History," presented at the spring meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, 1927. Both the book and the paper are most interesting historically to makers of alloy steels and

Jan 1, 1931

By William P. Blake

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) A DEPOSIT of manganese-ore near Tucson, Ariz., merits notice by reason of the peculiar form in which it occurs, and as a striking. example of ore-deposition by vadose upward capillary flow of metal-bearing solutions with concentration at the surface of the country-rock. This deposit occurs at the northern end of the Coyote mountains, about 40 miles west of Tucson, upon the outcropping beds of porphyritic rock, which appear to be partly-metamorphosed strata of volcanic tufa, probably of late Secondary or of Tertiary age. The strata dip northward at a low angle, and present a series of basset-edges in parallel lines of outcrop, east and west, facing the south and extending over many acres. Successive groups of these outcrops, from 5 to 20 ft. in breadth, are coated with oxides of manganese in lustrous black films and crusts, shining in the sunlight like polished ebony, and covering the whole surface of the rock above the soil. Seen at a little distance, these croppings look like solid ledges of massive and pure ore; but closer inspection and a few blows of the hammer reveal their true nature as a superficial coating allied in origin to the blackened shining surface of rocks exposed in desert-regions, familiarly known as " desert paint" or "desert varnish,"' similar to the phenomena described by me in a former paper, but much thicker and heavier. * By reason of the death of the distinguished author, this communication, probably his last communication to technical literature, is published without revision of the proofs by him. A term first given y G. K. Gilbert. See Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soil; by George P. Merrill, p. 256 (New York, 1897). Superficial Blackening and Discoloration of Rocks, Especially in Desert Regions, Trans., xxxv., 371 (1905).

Sep 1, 1910

By Walter McKee

WHEN mixed with common cast steel in quantities ranging from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. and properly treated, manganese increases the ductility of the metal and adds greatly to its toughness and resistance to abrasive action, which properties comprise the distinctive characteristics that make manganese steel so valuable for many purposes at the present time. Manganese steel has been manufactured for about 26 years. .It was first made in a small way in England and subsequently produced in the United States in 1892. At present the manganese-steel foundries of this country have an annual capacity of about 60,000 tons and most of the growth has occurred within the past 10 years. In the early days of the industry it was impracticable to make manganese castings weighing over a few thousand pounds, but at present crusher heads, rolling-mill pinions, and similar castings weighing up to 30,000 lb. each are produced, and it does not appear that the limit of weight has been reached by a considerable margin. Manganese steel is similar in analysis to ordinary first-class converter metal except that it is high in carbon and contains from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. of manganese. From one standpoint manganese steel is similar to malleable iron in that the casting as it comes out of the sand is hard and brittle and must be made ductile by a heat-treating process. The heat treatment is an essential part of the process of making manganese-steel castings and must be properly carried out to secure satisfactory results. The necessity for heat treatment limits the thickness of sections which may be made of manganese steel. Originally the annealing depth was comparatively small, but researches carried on during the past few years have resulted in an increase in the thickness of section up to 5 ½ in., which it is possible to treat successfully. Large castings are cored out to a minimum thickness of 5 ½ in., thus not only eliminating some of the internal stresses which are invariably set up in a very thick casting, but also reducing the weight and inertia of the piece, an

Jan 12, 1915

By Sir Robert Hadfield

SINCE the writer has been intimately connected with the development of manganese steel for many years, some remarks upon the early work with regard to the rolling and forging of this material might he of interest, and particularly as to the question of rails of special quality and of superior wearing qualities. In a paper on Iron Alloys, with Special Deference to Manganese Steel, read before this Institute at the International Engineering Congress in Chicago in 1893,1 the writer mentioned that, about 20 years ago, his firm in Sheffield produced railroad material, such as tires and axles, of forged and rolled manganese steel, thus showing that this product could be manipulated and worked up into the various required forms. The tires illustrated in the paper referred to above formed a particularly difficult class of work to produce in a special steel, but no special obstacles were met with Although there was no difficulty at that time in making and producing manganese steel in various forms, forged, rolled or pressed; nevertheless, on account of its higher expense, sufficient encouragement

Jan 2, 1914

RUSSIA was the United States Number One source of manganese ore in 1948 when 34 pet of imports were received from that source, stated Norwood B. Melcher, assistant chief, ferrous metals and alloys branch, Bureau of Mines. In 1949, this country received only 20 pet of 1948 shipments from Russia, and only token amounts are now being received. Aggressive programming by industry and government resulted in prompt increases in shipments from major, producing sources; India, Gold Coast, and the Union of South Africa all increased exports to fill the vacuum left by Russia and provided an excess adequate to increase total imports approximately 290,000 short tons in 1949. Again in 1950, and with, even less ore from Russia, imports increased another 290,000 short tons. Since the shift from Russia as a source of manganese, the United States has received in total about 85 pet of its imports from India, Union of South Africa, Gold Coast, and Brazil in that order of importance. Producers of both home consumed and merchant ferromanganese have been able to adjust downward the manganese content of the home-consumed product and so obtain partial relief. Millions of tons of steel were produced in 1951 with a relatively low grade ferromanganese. This adjustment has been made without decreasing the quality of the steel, although with some increase in cost through introduction of new problems, including increased hand- . ding of material and additional removal of carbon. Forced into a pattern of price and grade structure such as exists today, the producer of ferromanganese must adopt one of three possible courses as a short-range program: 1-He may continue to deplete his stocks by producing standard (78 pet) ferromanganese and hope that the future will bring some form of relief; 2-he may attempt to produce 78 pet ferromanganese by paying higher prices for premium ores; or 3-he may drop the grade of ferromanganese and stretch stocks and future supplies of ore as far as possible. The present rundown condition of Indian railroads is attributed to the fact that the service has had no opportunity to recuperate since the beginning of World War II, while the demand for the movement of commodities has probably increased. The Union of South Africa has expanded its exports to the United States greatly since 1948, but, the showing of that country in 1951 was disappointing. Efforts have been made for some time by firms in the United States, at the urging of the manganese miners in the Union, to prevail on the railroad authority to grant and make available larger allocations of cars for manganese ore movement. As a whole, such efforts have been unsuccessful. Although the allocation of rail shipping has been the obvious factor in the decreased movement of ore, many other less determinate factors appear to be involved. Brazil, long an important supplier of manganese to the United States, has important manganese deposits in three areas, all of which are significant to this country. The Gold Coast is an important source of supply. Its metallurgical ore is particularly of significance because of its unusually high grade which permits considerable latitude in blending with the lower grade materials of South Africa and India. The Belgian Congo should have an output of 100,000 tons or more annually beginning this year. R. S. Dean presented two papers. One with K. M. Leute on hydrometallurgical methods for recovery of manganese from domestic ores and one as sole author on the so-called carbamate or Dean process. The two papers tied into each other. In the first mentioned he reviewed the various processes applicable to oxidized, and nonoxidized and reduced ores. The advantages of each .were pointed out. So far the only process tried on a substantial scale on oxidized ores was the SO2 process used at Las Vegas, Nev., on Three Kids ore during World War II. Many problems were encountered. Some of them were whipped while some of those remaining perhaps would have been whipped had time permitted. Since then work has been done elsewhere to avoid the formation of the troublesome thionates encountered at the Three Kids plant. Dean discussed the thionate and NO, processes as applied to oxidized ores. The only commercially used process on reduced ores is that of making electrolytic manganese. Among others that have been considered are the nitric acid process, the Bradley-Fitch ammonium sulphate process, and Dean's ammonium carbamate process. Dean's thesis was that extremely large tonnages of so-called low grade manganese ores are available, and that these should not be depleted in attempting to simulate a foreign metallurgical grade ore. He pointed out that the grade of the domestic manganese ores would be considered high if the same grade were found in copper ores. The selling price of electrolytic manganese and electrolytic copper are roughly the same. In addition to electrolytic manganese, he believes that domestic ores should be used to make exceptionally high grade products. These might be battery grade oxide or substantially pure oxide sinter, which might be used for high manganese alloys or for upgrading metallurgical grade manganese to produce a high manganese ferroalloy. The carbamate process is based on the fact that manganous oxide is readily soluble in concentrated ammonia solutions containing ammonium salts. In solutions of sufficiently high concentration the manganese exists as an anion. Lixiviants of ammonia and ammonium carbonate permit extraction of the manganese from reduced ores and the manganese can be recovered as carbonate by heating or by driving off ammonia. R. V. Lundquist presented a paper on upgrading high-silica ores or concentrates with sodium hydroxide to extract silica and to yield a product with a more favorable manganese: silica ratio. The NaOH is, regenerated in part by CaO.

Jan 1, 1952