Chapter IV: Manganese

BY D. F. HEWETT

USES OF MANGANESE

Alloys of manganese are essential in the manufacture of steel by the open-hearth and the Bessemer processes, which produce 99 per cent. of the total output of the United States. In this country, about 14 pounds of metallic manganese as alloys, equivalent to about 40 pounds of high-grade ore, is used in making a ton of average steel. Two alloys are in common use: ferromanganese and spiegeleisen. Ferromanganese, with 70 to 80 per cent. manganese, is largely used in making open-hearth steel carrying less than 0.30 per cent. carbon, whereas spiegeleisen, with 20 to 32 per cent. manganese, is used in making Bessemer steel carrying more than 0.30 per cent. carbon. The first group of low-carbon steels is used in making structural shapes, sheets, bars, wire, etc., and the second group of high-carbon steels is used in making rails, forgings, etc.

In making 70 to 80 per cent. ferromanganese, so-called “high-grade” ore with more than 35 per cent. manganese and less than 5 per cent. iron and 15 per cent. silica is needed. In making 20 to 32 per cent. spiegeleisen, so-called “low-grade” or ferruginous manganese ore with 10 to 35 per cent. manganese, 20 to 35 per cent. iron, and less than 20 per cent. silica is needed, although here and there spiegeleisen is made by mixing high-grade manganese ore with iron ore.

Several other alloys such as silico-manganese, ferro-silicon, and ferro-carbon-titanium may be used as partial substitutes for ferromanganese, but although they may be capable of wider use under stress, they are electric-furnace products and under normal conditions their cost is prohibitive.

Very pure manganese oxide is used in making the common dry battery, the production of which has greatly increased with the wide use of the internal-combustion engine. About 25,000 tons is used annually in the United States for this purpose. The manganese oxide thus used is not consumed, but becomes exhausted through the loss of oxygen. Under stress of high prices, the oxide may be regenerated by treatment or by mixture with new refined material.

Small quantities of manganese ore are used in making many chemical products and pigments.

CHANGES IN PRACTICE

Any consideration of the need for manganese ore and ferromanganese and of dependence upon foreign sources of supply should take account of the degree to which low-grade ore and spiegeleisen may be used as substitutes for high-grade ore and ferromanganese. Thus, although both Germany and the United States have only insignificant resources of high-grade ore, both possess unusually large reserves of low-grade ore. Under recent conditions in the United States the percentage of total manganese used as spiegeleisen increased in three years from 10 to about 18 per cent. Competent authorities have estimated that this substitution may be further increased to nearly 70 per cent. with slight modifications in practice and modest addition of equipment. Some competent engineers further contend that by other modifications of practice a large part of the manganese now needed as alloys may be eliminated by the addition of low-grade manganese ore during early stages of the smelting and refining process.

GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION

Although concentrated masses such as are useful in the arts are rather uncommon, manganese is widespread throughout the earth; it forms a part of about 100 minerals and most of the common rocks, igneous as well as sedimentary, contain 0.1 to 2 per cent.

Present requirements as to grade are such that manganese ores are largely oxides. The carbonate, rhodochrosite, contains enough manganese to permit its use in making 80 per cent. ferromanganese, but only in a few places are the masses large enough to be the basis of extensive mining. The common silicate contains 43 per cent. manganese, but the silica content is so high (23 per cent.) that it can not be used alone in making the ordinary alloys.

The common oxides of manganese are deposited under many conditions which are found near the surface of the earth. Large masses of oxides were deposited in shallow marine waters, in shallow fresh-water basins and under many other conditions in the relatively thin mantle of weathered rock that is found over the entire world. Although most of these large masses were formed in the surface zone where the underlying unweathered rocks are unusually rich in manganese, some large masses of oxides accumulate under peculiarly favorable conditions by the concentration of small quantities of manganese disseminated through the common rocks.

For purposes of geologic study, deposits of manganese oxides may be considered in two groups, as follows: (1) those derived from more or less localized masses of carbonate or silicate materials, generally with more than 5 per cent. manganese, that seem to have no relation to the surface of the earth; and (2) those originally deposited near the surface as localized bodies of oxides.

Under the first group are zones of carbonate or silicate rocks in contact with intrusive igneous rocks, such as are found in Brazil and India. These zones contain manganiferous carbonates (mixed with iron, lime, and magnesia); and silicates (spessartite or manganese garnet and piedmontite or manganese epidote and possibly rhodonite, or manganese pyroxene). By the weathering of such rocks, large bodies of high-grade oxides have been formed.

Manganese also occurs in fissure veins or the adjacent wall rocks in regions that have been intruded by igneous rocks. The veins commonly contain rhodochrosite, manganiferous siderite, or rhodonite, associated with quartz and metallic sulphide minerals, including alabandite, the sulphide of manganese. Such veins are known in Philipsburg and Butte, Mont.; Silverton, Colo., and elsewhere. In such regions if the wall rocks adjacent to fissures are limestone or dolomite, they may be extensively replaced by manganiferous siderite or other carbonates which on weathering yield large bodies of manganese oxides, locally mixed with iron oxides. Such bodies are known at Leadville, Colo.

The manganese existing in sediments, notably clayey, but in part carbonate, may migrate locally after the sediments are slightly buried and form zones of manganiferous carbonate and silicate concretions parallel to the bedding. Where, as in the Batesville district, Arkansas, these zones are exposed by erosion, the manganese is further concentrated as masses of oxides in residual clay.

Metamorphic rocks, such as slates and schists, here and there, as in Spain, Newfoundland, California, and Washington, contain extensive lenses of rhodonite or other silicate with or without rhodochrosite, roughly parallel to the bedding. The origin of these lenses, which are generally rather remote from igneous intrusions, is obscure. Some are considered to be materials laid down during sedimentation, others are thought to represent concentrations effected during metamorphism when the sediments were deeply buried.

In the second group mentioned above (manganese deposits first concentrated near the surface as oxides) are included extensive deposits of oxides interbedded with marine sediments, as in the Caucasus region, Russia. Others interbedded with volcanic material, tuffs and flows, are known in the Mediterranean region and in Chile. In India important beds of oxides are interbedded with quartzite and slate.

Many deposits of oxides have recently formed and are probably now forming in bogs in many regions, notably New Brunswick, Canada. They are not important as sources of production.

Although no simple relation seems to govern the distribution of manganese in unweathered rock, there is reason for believing that the accumulation of manganese oxides in the weathered mantle is favored by climates that cause unusually complete or deep rock decay. Although a few manganese oxide deposits are found within the belts of recent glaciation, and some have no relation to weathering, most of the important deposits occur in areas now or recently favored with warm, humid climates, and there is reason for suspecting that such areas will yield other important deposits.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

=North America.=--In the United States, the occurrence of manganese ore can be most clearly described by grouping the districts according to grade or ore: (1) high grade, containing 35 per cent. or more of manganese, which is used ordinarily for making the high-grade alloy, ferromanganese, and (2) low-grade, ferruginous manganese ore, used ordinarily for the low-grade ferro-alloy, spiegeleisen. The country is deficient in natural supplies of the former, but has abundant resources of the latter, which under the stress of necessity could be largely substituted for the high-grade ore, which is now mainly imported.

The following districts in the United States yield high-grade ore:

At Philipsburg, Mont., are bodies of manganese carbonate that replace Cambrian limestone near veins and igneous contacts. These are weathered to oxides to a depth of about 200 feet below the surface. At Butte, Mont., veins in granite contain manganese carbonate and silicate, locally weathered to oxides.

In the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and in similar valleys in Tennessee and Georgia, the residual clays from certain Cambrian limestones and Silurian shale and sandstone yield bodies of manganese oxides to depths that range from 200 to 250 feet below the surface. Many small deposits also occur in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.

The total production of the United States from 1838 to 1918 was 893,734 tons, and the maximum was 305,869 tons in 1918.

Among the chief districts yielding the lower grade of ore (10 to 35 per cent. manganese) the most conspicuous is the Cuyuna district in Minnesota, where beds of iron-manganese carbonate of pre-Cambrian age are weathered to oxides to depths of 250 to 500 feet below the surface and contain ore bodies carrying 7 to 20 per cent. manganese, and 25 to 50 per cent. iron. The single deposits range from 50,000 to 7,500,000 tons each. Since the first shipments in 1913, the production through 1918 has been 1,666,677 tons of ore carrying more than 5 per cent. manganese.

Large deposits of low-grade manganese ore also occur in the Leadville district in Colorado, where irregular bodies of iron-manganese carbonate have replaced magnesian limestone of Carboniferous age and are weathered to oxides to depths as great as 850 feet. From 1885 to 1918, the total production was 3,202,678 tons of material, most of which contained from 15 to 30 per cent. manganese.

Other deposits of ferruginous manganese ore have been exploited in Eagle County, Colorado; the Pioche district, Nevada; Silver City district, New Mexico; and in Arkansas, Georgia, and Virginia.

In _Canada_, large deposits of siliceous manganese ores occur in Newfoundland, and several small deposits in New Brunswick, Alberta, and British Columbia.

In _Costa Rica_, manganese occurs in four districts near Playa Real, Nicoya Peninsula, in the form of oxides that seem to be interlayered with sedimentary rocks. The most productive deposits are owned by citizens of United States and of Cuba; others are owned entirely by Cubans. They were first exploited in 1916, and to the end of 1918 had exported 18,000 tons to United States.

In _Cuba_, manganese is mined near Santiago and Bueycito, in the province of Oriente. Near Santiago, manganese oxides occur as lenticular or irregular bodies in tuff, clay, and limestone. Other deposits are reported in Santa Clara and Pinal del Rio provinces. The mines that have been the source of more than 90 per cent. of the exports are owned jointly by citizens of Cuba and of the United States, and the remaining mines by Cubans.

From 1888 to 1910, 266,621 tons were exported. In 1915, after four years of idleness, the mines were reopened, and imports into the United States from 1915 to 1918, inclusive, were 163,189 tons.[52]

[52] Production data, long tons, unless otherwise specified.

In _Mexico_, manganese ores are found four miles north of Chihuahua City and south of Palomas, in the State of Chihuahua. It is assumed that the deposits are owned by native Mexicans. Manganese also occurs near Conception Bay, Lower California, where the mines are owned by native Mexicans but are under lease to Americans. From both of these districts, 1,500 tons were produced and exported to the United States in 1917.

In the Republic of _Panama_, near Nombre de Dios and Madinga, there are irregular lenses of manganese oxides in decomposed sedimentary beds. Seven groups of deposits were exploited near Nombre de Dios. Five of them were exploited by Americans, one by native owners, and one by French. The Nombre de Dios deposits yielded 50,000 tons of ore from 1871 to 1902, largely during the last six years. The Madinga deposits were opened in 1916 and during 1916 and 1917 exported 11,000 tons to the United States.

=South America.=--The largest deposits of manganese ore in South America are in _Brazil_, and especially in the important mining state of Minas Geraes.

In the Lafayette district in this state, manganese oxides occur in wide lenticular bodies, that seem to have no definite arrangement or association, except that most of them are bounded by schist or gneiss. The deposits lie in a complex of granite, gneiss, and crystalline schists; and the manganese oxides are probably derived from manganese-bearing carbonate and silicate minerals. The most productive area, known as the Morro da Mina, 2,500 feet long by 1,000 feet wide, contains four distinct bodies that range from 320 to 1,300 feet long and from 48 to 320 feet wide. Here manganese oxides persist 410 feet below the surface.

The area has yielded about 1,000,000 tons of ore and the reserves are probably between 7,000,000 and 10,000,000 tons.

In the same State of Minas Geraes, in the Miguel Burnier and Ouro Prieto districts, manganese oxides are interlayered with ferruginous sedimentary rocks of pre-Cambrian age.

In the State of Bahia, the Nazareth district contains bodies of manganese oxide in a thick surface zone of highly weathered schistose rocks. The oxides are probably derived from lenses of manganese garnet in schist. The largest deposit yielded 70,000 tons of ore. Manganese deposits are also reported near Bom Fim, in the same state.

Other deposits of manganese ore in Brazil are reported in the states of Maranhao and Matto Grosso.

The known manganese deposits of Minas Geraes lie within an area about 30 miles square, the center of which is about 300 miles north of Rio Janeiro. The ore is readily mined from open cuts, but existing transportation and loading facilities practically limit the annual exports to 550,000 tons.

Most of the important deposits in the Lafayette-Miguel Burnier and Ouro Prieto districts are owned by resident Brazilians. In 1915 a German company had worked a part of the Morro da Mina deposit for six or seven years and produced a total of 200,000 tons of ore. During 1915 a Belgian company was operating the Cocuruto mine near Ouro Prieto and was shipping 2,000 tons monthly. The largest deposit of the Nazareth district is owned by an American and the undeveloped deposits near Turyassu are owned by Norwegians.

From the beginning of the industry in 1894 to 1918, 4,660,000 tons of manganese ore were exported from Brazil. From 1900 to 1913, the annual exports ranged from 99,000 to 250,000 tons, but with the elimination of Russian sources in 1914, exports rose to 503,130 tons in 1916, 532,855 tons in 1917, and 393,388 tons in 1918. In October, 1917, the export tax on manganese ore was advanced from $0.85 to $3.00 per metric ton. Even before the war a large part of the Brazilian exports went to the United States. The destination of the 1913 exports was as follows: United States, 60 per cent.; Germany, 18 per cent.; Great Britain, 16 per cent.; France, 6 per cent.

In _Chile_, manganese ores occur at Corral Quemada, and nearby districts in the State of Coquimbo. In these districts, beds of manganese oxides are interlayered with sandstone, shale, and volcanic flows. Manganese is also found in the Carrizal district in the State of Atacama, where beds of manganese oxides are interbanded with shale and limestone. From 1885, when explorations were begun, to 1905, the exports of manganese ores from Chilean ports amounted to 549,716 tons, the maximum exports for one year being 50,871 tons, in 1892.

In _Uruguay_, deposits of ferruginous manganese ore, reported to contain 80,500,000 tons, occur at Zapucay, in the Department of Rivera.

=Europe.=--In the former empire of _Austria-Hungary_, the principal manganese district is near Dorna Vatra, in Bukowina. Here there are lenses of manganese carbonate and silicate in schists that have weathered to oxides near the surface. The deposits are owned by the Bukowina Greek Church. The average annual production from 1906 to 1912 was 13,600 tons. Other deposits are reported in Bohemia, Istria, Styria, Hungary and Bosnia. Since 1901, the production of Austria-Hungary has ranged from 18,000 to 25,000 tons annually.

In _Belgium_, near Chevron, in the Province of Liège, ferruginous manganese oxides have formed by the weathering of manganese and iron carbonates. Since 1901, the annual production in peace times has ranged from 2,000 to 15,000 tons.

In _France_, manganese occurs chiefly near Romaneche, in the Department of Saone and Loire, where several bodies of manganese oxides lie in a fault between sedimentary rocks and granite. The deposit has been known since 1823, and the production in 1901 was 9,500 tons. Other French deposits have been explored in the Departments of Hautes-Pyrenees, L’Ariege, L’Allier, L’Ande, and La Nievre. The annual production rather steadily declined from 22,000 tons in 1901 to 6,000 tons in 1913. The ownership of the French manganese deposits seems to be largely French, possibly aided by some English capital.

In _Germany_, manganese ore of the better type, containing over 30 per cent. of the metal, occurs in Sachsen-Gotha, Central Germany, in small veins of manganese and iron carbonates weathered near the surface to oxides. A similar grade of manganese ore occurs in small quantities at Hessen and Waldeck, in Rhenish Prussia.

Manganiferous iron ore, containing from 12 to 30 per cent. of manganese, occurs in Hessen-Nassau, Rhenish Prussia, where manganese and iron oxides form irregular flat lenses imbedded in clays derived from the weathering of underlying Devonian limestone. During the period 1907 to 1911, nine deposits yielded 262,000 to 283,000 tons annually.

Manganiferous iron ore (containing less than 12 per cent. manganese) is found at Siegerland and at Nassau, Rhenish Prussia. The veins are large and contain manganiferous siderite; they cut Devonian sediments. These deposits are largely owned by the principal iron works of Rhenish Prussia. During the period 1907 to 1911, the annual production ranged from 2,200,000 to 2,600,000 tons.

In _Great Britain_, the principal deposits are in North Wales. Veins of manganese carbonate and silicate, as well as interlayered lenses, are found. The material contains 20 to 36 per cent. manganese. Other deposits are recorded in Devonshire, Cornwall, and Shropshire. The maximum production of Great Britain of about 23,000 tons was attained in 1906, when two mines in North Wales yielded 19,300 tons.

Manganese occurs in _Greece_, in the western end of the island of Melos, where nodules and masses of manganese oxides are disseminated through beds of tuffs of Pliocene age. The maximum production of 15,000 tons was recorded in 1902. The output has since steadily declined to 550 tons in 1913. Manganese also occurs on the peninsula of Kassandra, which was formerly in European Turkey. A vein explored mainly for argentiferous galena yields manganese oxides from the surface zone. The maximum production of 52,000 tons was attained in 1902, steadily declining thereafter to 12,000 tons in 1910.

In _Italy_ there is manganese in Tuscany, where irregular bodies of manganese and iron oxides occur in Triassic limestones. Other deposits in Liguria and Sardinia have recently yielded a little ore. Of the maximum Italian production of 18,147 metric tons (18 to 45 per cent. manganese) in 1916, 14,072 metric tons was derived from the Tuscany deposits in Tuscany. Normally the annual production has ranged from 1,600 to 4,700 tons.

In _Portugal_ there is manganese in Alemtejo. The deposits, reported to be lenses and veins in Silurian quartzites, are owned by a Portuguese company.

_Russia_ contains the most important manganese deposits in Europe, if not in the world. The principal mining district is near Chiaturi, in the Kutais Government, on the south side of the Caucasus Mountains, in southern Russia. Layers of oolitic grains of manganese oxides are interbedded with horizontal sandstone and shale of Lower Eocene age. Within a zone that ranges in thickness from 4.5 to 7.5 feet and averages about 6.5 feet, seven distinct layers of very pure manganese oxide aggregate about 40 inches in thickness, and the remainder is low-grade material and sand. It is estimated that an area of 120 to 143 square kilometers was originally underlain by the bed of oxides, but that about half has been removed by erosion. Estimates of reserves range from 23,000,000 tons to several hundred million tons.

The mines are operated in a crude, inefficient manner and scarcely two-thirds of the ore is recovered. The number of actual producers ranged from 183 in 1902, to 376 in 1906, but declined to 96 during the political troubles in 1908. The ore is sorted by hand and the low-grade material is washed in crude plants. From 20 to 25 per cent. of the exported material has been concentrated by washing.

In 1902 there were 5,000 concessions, of which 3,750 were owned by 14 persons, each with 25 to 500 concessions; the remainder belonged to 300 peasants and small merchants. By 1912 a producers’ association had been formed to permit the owners to deal collectively with the exporters. Large investments had also been made by German capitalists in mines as well as in undeveloped territory. The Gelsenkirchen Gesellschaft, a German firm, had been formed partly for the purpose of mining but largely to purchase and export ore to Germany. In 1912, this firm, although it produced only a little ore, exported nearly one-third of the total. German groups also established necessary financial agencies to facilitate export of ore as well as to make loans to mine operators. In 1913, of 16 exporting firms, only 3 were Russian.

The output of the mines of the Chiaturi district is hauled to Chiaturi (1.3 to 3.3 miles), loaded on narrow-gauge cars for transport to Sharopan (25 miles), and then reloaded on cars for shipment to Poti or Batum (107 miles), the ports of export. Large stocks ranging from 1,030,000 tons in 1912, to 1,525,000 tons in 1908, are kept at Chiaturi, Poti and Batum. From 1910 to 1912, the distribution of exports ranged as follows: Holland (for Germany), 30 to 43 per cent.; England, 22 to 23 per cent.; Belgium (largely for Germany), 15 to 21 per cent.; Germany (direct), 5 per cent.; France, 4 to 6 per cent.; United States, 4 to 10 per cent.; Austria, 4 to 10 per cent. About 1913, an export tax equal to 40 cents per long ton was levied by the Russian government.

It is estimated that from 1848 to 1914, inclusive, this deposit yielded about 11,000,000 tons of washed ore of marketable grade. The maximum production of 1,300,000 tons was attained in 1913.

Another important manganese mining region is the Nicopol district, in the Province of Ekaterinoslav, north of the Black Sea. In this district a bed of manganese oxides lies between clays and sandstone of Oligocene age. This bed is 1 to 5 feet thick, averaging nearly 3 feet. It is estimated to extend over an area of 20 square kilometers (7.5 square miles) and to contain 7,400,000 tons of manganese ore. The ore is mined and washed in a crude way to free it from the attached clay.

The deposits in this district are probably owned largely by Russians, although French capital is interested in one company and German capital in another. During the period 1901 to 1910, between 80 and 90 per cent. of the production was consumed in southern Russia and the remainder was exported. From 1886, when the deposits were first exploited, the output rose rather steadily to the maximum of 271,000 tons in 1907, then declined to 173,000 tons in 1910. The total production of the district is about 1,800,000 tons.

Manganese deposits are also known in the Province of Podolien and Terek, and in the governments of Tiflis, Erwin, Elisabetpol, and Perm.

The principal manganese deposits of _Spain_ are on the south slope of Sierra Morena, in the Province of Huelva. Vertical lenticular bodies of manganese carbonate and silicate with a little pyrite, garnet, and mica occur interlayered with slate of Paleozoic age. About one hundred bodies are known, many being 500 feet long and 100 feet wide, whereas the largest is 3,300 feet long and 330 feet wide. The manganese minerals are weathered to oxides to an average depth of 65 feet and a maximum depth of 250 feet. From 1881 to 1905, when the oxide ores were nearly exhausted, nearly 700,000 tons had been shipped. From 1906 to 1910 about 125,000 tons of mixed carbonate and silicate was produced.

Manganese is also found in the Covadonga district, Province of Oviedo, where large boulders of manganese oxide are found in clay resulting from the weathering of underlying limestone. These deposits yielded 3,800 tons in 1915. Other productive deposits occur in the provinces of Seville and Teruel. Deposits are also known in the provinces of Ciudad Real, Murcia, and Almeria.

In _Sweden_, there are manganese ores north of Philipstad, in Wermland, where tabular bodies of manganese oxides are interlayered with dolomite and magnetite. These deposits contributed 7,607 tons out of a total of 7,733 tons in 1915, which was the maximum recorded production of Sweden.

=Asia.=--In _India_, on the east coast in the Vizagapatam and Ganjam districts, Madras, is a unique group of rocks known as the Kodurite series, containing manganese garnet, manganese pyroxene, potash feldspar, apatite, and quartz. These rocks, supposed to be of igneous origin, have been deeply weathered and the manganese concentrated as oxides in the surface zone. The manganese ore bodies have been explored only to 100 feet in depth, but it is expected that they will extend to 500 feet. The largest ore body explored at the Garbham mine is 1,600 feet long and 100 feet wide, and, from 1896 to 1913, yielded 736,192 tons of ore. The Kodur deposit yielded 370,382 tons of ore from 1892 to 1913. Production began in 1892, reached a maximum of 111,501 tons in 1906, and slowly declined to 44,127 tons in 1913.

Manganese also occurs in the Balaghat, Bhandara, Chindwara, and Nagpur districts in the central provinces; Narukot and Panch Mahals districts, Bombay; Jhabua district, central India; and the Gangpur district in Bihar and Orissa. These districts form a belt that extends from Baroda, on the west coast, across northern India nearly to Calcutta on the east, a distance of 700 miles. In these districts, beds of manganese oxides with manganese garnet and rhodonite form a rock type known as gondite, which is interlayered with quartzite and mica schist. These rocks are considered to be sediments of the Dharwar group (Archean). The manganese oxides may have been laid down as sediments, or may represent the weathering of the silicates. The ore bodies are lenses and layers. The largest single deposit, Balaghat, has the form of a shallow trough, is 1³⁄₄ miles long and 45 to 50 feet thick, and yielded from 1901 to 1913, 725,248 tons of ore. In 1913, thirteen distinct deposits had yielded more than 100,000 tons each, the range being from 101,721 to 725,248 tons.

From 1901, when the deposits of this type were first exploited, the rate of production rose steadily to the maximum of 697,035 tons in 1913. During 1907, fifty-two separate deposits contributed 598,437 tons.

Where rocks of Dharwar age (Archean), such as mica schists, that do not seem to contain the manganese-bearing Gondite series, are deeply weathered, manganese and manganiferous iron oxides form irregular but locally extensive deposits on the crests of hills. These deposits are underlain by barren clays that represent the residue of the underlying rocks. The largest deposit yielded 160,000 tons of ore in three years, 1906 to 1908, but is probably almost exhausted. The principal deposits of this class are in the Sandur Hills district, Madras; the Shimoga district, Mysore; and the Belgaum district, in Bombay; which lie within an area less than 100 miles in diameter in southwest India. From 1905, when deposits of this group were first explored, the production increased to a maximum of 11,353 tons in 1909,then declined to 62,770 tons in 1913. The total yield of this group to the end of 1913 was only 765,401 tons.

As regards the commercial control of the manganese deposits, a law recently passed forbids aliens to own more than a minor interest in mineral deposits in India. Previous to this, during 1907, the latest year for which complete data are available and in which 899,055 tons was produced, the entire output was from mines owned by resident English or natives, except for 21,500 tons produced by the Carnegie Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, U. S. A.

The annual production of manganese ore in India rose steadily from 1892, when the first shipments were made, to 1907, when 899,055 tons was shipped; and since then has ranged from 450,000 to 815,000 tons. The total production, up to and including 1916, was 8,748,000 tons.

Indian ores are transported to the shipping ports by rail for distances ranging from 56 miles for the Vizagapatam district to 783 miles for the Chindwara district, with the result that freight charges are heavy. The ports of export in order of tonnage handled are, Bombay, Mormugas, Calcutta, and Vizagapatam. The destination of exports in 1913 was as follows: United Kingdom, 36 per cent.; Belgium (largely to Germany), 26 per cent.; United States, 15 per cent.; France, 14 per cent.; Germany, 2 per cent.; others, 7 per cent.

In the _Japanese Empire_, in the islands of Mutsu, Echigo, Ugo, and Nato, are irregular lenticular bodies of rather pure manganese oxides that occur more or less parallel to the bedding of metamorphosed Paleozoic sediments. Below water level, the oxides grade into rhodonite and are probably derived from this mineral. The ore bodies are not large, but many are known and they are the source of a small but regular production. In the islands of Mutsu, Nogo, Hokkaido and Ugo many irregular but locally large deposits of manganese oxides are associated with highly altered volcanic tuffs and flows of Tertiary age. Most of the deposits in Japan seem to be owned by natives in small holdings. The maximum production of 18,076 tons is reported for 1913, but since 1900 the range has usually been from 5,000 to 15,000 tons.

In the _Philippine Islands_, manganese occurs on the islands of Ilocos Norte, Masbate, Bulacan, Pangasinan and Tarloc, largely as veinlets and boulders of oxides in weathered igneous rock. On Ilocos Norte a maximum production of 3,000 tons was attained in 1916.

=Africa.=--On the _Gold Coast of West Africa_ (a British colony), near Dagwin, are several deposits of manganese, the largest being 400 feet long and 70 feet wide. The concession is owned by a British exploration company. The deposit was discovered in 1914; and from the beginning of exploration in 1916 up to November 7, 1917, 28,465 tons had been shipped to England.

In the _Belgian Congo_, there is manganese ore in the valley of the Upper Fungwe River, and in southern Katanga. The deposits are too remote from the ocean to justify exploration, but are reported to be large. In the _Union of South Africa_ (British) several manganese deposits are found along the sea coast, within 30 miles east and west of Capetown. Of the seven known deposits the largest is estimated to contain 15,000 tons. In _Egypt_, in the Sinai peninsula, are large manganiferous iron deposits as well as small manganese deposits, but none has been exploited. In _Tunis_, there are deposits reported to contain 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 tons of manganiferous iron ore, and also several manganese deposits which yielded 5,800 metric tons of manganese ore in 1917.

Although the known deposits of manganese in Africa are few and relatively unimportant, the continent offers an unusual prospect for the discovery of deposits that will contribute largely to the world’s supply. Inasmuch as the moist tropical climate of large areas favors extraordinary rock decay and surface concentration of manganese oxides, exploration will probably show the presence of many deposits, and where bedrock geological conditions are favorable, large bodies may be found.

=Australasia.=--In _Australia_, there are deposits of manganese ore in New South Wales, in Queensland, in South Australia, and in Victoria.

In _New Zealand_, deposits of manganese ore occur in the Thames district, Auckland.

Deposits of manganese ore are known in _Borneo_, at Maruda Bay.

It is reported that large deposits of high-grade ore have recently been discovered in _Java_.

Some statistics of the production of manganese are shown graphically in figures 5 and 6.

DEVELOPMENTS AND CHANGES IN GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEAR FUTURE

The known manganese resources of Russia, India, and Brazil are so large and readily available for exploitation and marketing that there is little prospect of their being displaced as the chief sources of the world’s supply for many years. Since the war began, in 1914, several important new districts have been discovered and brought to the producing stage, notably the Gold Coast of West Africa, western Costa Rica, and Java. Although the Javan deposits are reported to be large and may become an important factor in the world’s trade, all that is known concerning the other deposits does not hold out much hope that they can compete with the established sources.

There appears to be a fair chance that the equatorial belt as well as several other parts of the earth may yield additional important manganese deposits.

The distribution of the manganese deposits of the world is shown in Plate III.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL

The table of production for 1913 on page 105 shows the part of the total that each country contributed and the known extent of commercial control.

In contrast with deposits of several other important minerals, most of the manganese deposits throughout the world are owned by natives or residents of the respective countries in which they are found.

German companies have acquired tracts in the Chiaturi and Nicopol districts, Russia, and Queluz (Lafayette) district, Brazil. It appears that although one of these companies produces a little ore, the main purpose was to stabilize an unorganized industry by financial assistance.

In India it is difficult to distinguish between those companies composed of resident English and native Indians which were formed to exploit mines for profit and those composed of absentee English who desire to secure a supply of ore for English or other consumption. There seems to be no English capital in Brazil or Russia.

One French company owned two shipping mines in India in 1907, but there is no record of operations in 1913. French capital is interested in several companies busy in the Nicopol district, Russia. A Belgian company operates one mine in the Queluz district, Brazil.

TABLE 24.--PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF MANGANESE

-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------
| | Man- | Per |
| | ganese| cent. |
| |content|of total|
| | (per | pro- | Commercial control
Country |Long tons|cent.) |duction |(estimated per cent.)
-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------
North America | | | |
United States | 4,048| 40+ | 0.16 |United States, 100
| | | |
South America | | | |{Brazil, 80
Brazil | 120,368| 38-48 | 5.10 |{Belgium, 5
| | | |{Germany, 15
| | | |
Europe | | | |
Austria-Hungary| 34,986| ? | 1.5 |Austria-Hungary, 100
Bosnia- | | | |
Herzegovina | 5,709| ? | 0.2 |?
France | 7,610| 30+ | 0.3 |France, 100
Germany | 748| 30+ | 0.03 |Germany, 100
Italy | 1,596| 18-45 | 0.07 |Italy, 100
| | | |{Russia, 65
Russia |1,289,370| 41-48 | 55.4 |{Germany, 30
| | | |{France, 5
Spain | 21,254| 29+ | 0.9 |?
Sweden | 3,938| ? | 0.15 |?
United Kingdom | 5,393| 30+ | 0.21 |England, 100
| | | |
Asia | | | |
India | 815,047| 42-54 | 35.0 |{English and native, 90
| | | |{United States, 10
Japan | 18,516| ? | 0.8 |Japan, 100
| | | |
Oceania | | | |
Australia | 27| | |?
+---------+ | |
Total |2,328,110| | |
-----------------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------------

The Carnegie Steel Co., of Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. A., owns and works several deposits in India. Although Americans own deposits in the Nazareth district, Brazil, in Panama, and Costa Rica, and some of those of Cuba, there is no record of American ownership of any of the most important deposits of Brazil, nor of any in Russia.

From 1902 to 1914, about half the ferromanganese used in the United States was made in this country from foreign ore and half was imported from England, where it was made from imported ore. This tendency arises out of the limitations of blast-furnace smelting of the alloy and the difference between the cost of labor in the United States and in England, but does not represent definite control, for ferromanganese may be made in any modern blast furnace used to make pig iron. In order to smelt with maximum efficiency in making ferromanganese, however, a blast furnace should run continuously for long periods, and therefore make 20,000 to 35,000 tons of alloy annually. Although it is possible to pass without interruption from making ferromanganese to spiegeleisen and then to pig iron, the change causes losses. Small steel works in the United States therefore find it more advantageous to purchase imported ferromanganese than to make what they need.

POSITION OF THE IMPORTANT NATIONS WITH REGARD TO MANGANESE SUPPLIES

=United States.=--Although from 1885 to 1890, deposits in the United States supplied half or more of the needed high-grade manganese ore, from 1890 to 1916 the domestic production rather steadily declined to a negligible minimum, while imports of foreign ore and ferromanganese steadily rose in accord with the rate of total steel production. On the other hand, during the period ending about 1908, when the rate of manufacture of steel by the Bessemer process (in which spiegeleisen is largely used) exceeded that by the open-hearth process, the annual domestic contribution of spiegeleisen largely made from domestic ores greatly exceeded the imports. In advance, therefore, of the exploitation of the large deposits of low-grade ores of Minnesota, which have been the source of most of the production since 1916, the United States demonstrated independence of foreign supplies of low-grade ore and alloys.

The experience and information gained during the war, largely during 1918, show conclusively, first, with respect to metallurgy, that 20 to 30 per cent. spiegeleisen, as well as 60 to 70 per cent. ferromanganese, instead of 80 per cent., may be used to make satisfactory grades of open-hearth steel without appreciably sacrificing rate of production or quality of product; and second, with respect to ore production, that known domestic deposits can supply for at least five and probably ten or more years, much more low-grade ore than is needed to make spiegeleisen, and for at least five years and possibly ten years, about one-third the high-grade ore needed for the manufacture of alloy with 60 to 80 per cent. manganese. The reader should note, however, that capacity of mines to meet demand is in large measure determined by the prices offered for the product, which during 1918 were about five times those prevailing before the war. Beyond doubt, at pre-war prices, the United States can not supply more than several per cent. of the high-grade ore needed to make ferromanganese.

Citizens of the United States have not shown great interest in purchasing foreign deposits of manganese ore. With Cubans, they have controlled the mines yielding a large part of the Cuban output, and about 1907 one company, the Carnegie Steel Co., purchased several deposits in India. That company, however, seems to purchase ore, in addition to the output of its mines. Not until 1917 did Americans enter the Brazilian fields; then the largest deposits of the relatively unimportant Bahia district were purchased by a Philadelphia group.

=England.=--Before the war, England received about 50 per cent. of her manganese ore from India, 40 per cent. from Russia, 3 per cent. from Brazil, and small quantities from Spain and Portuguese India. Some low-grade ore also came from Spain, Algeria, and Greece. Domestic production was scarcely 1 per cent. of imports. Exports of ferromanganese, largely to the United States, however, have been equivalent to 35 to 45 per cent. of the total imports of ore. Two effects of the war were to eliminate Russia as a source of ore, the deficit being made up from India, and greatly to curtail exports of ferromanganese. In contrast with the United States and Germany, Great Britain does not seem to contain deposits of low-grade ores capable of supplementing the needs of high-grade ore.

England controls fully 90 per cent. of the Indian output, probably through ownership by resident English and native Indians. On the other hand, England seems to have no control, direct or indirect, of the output of Brazil, Russia, or of other important contributions to supplies.

=France.=--Of the needed manganese ore, France imports from 35 to 45 per cent. from India, 40 to 55 per cent. from Russia, about 10 per cent. from Spain, and several per cent. from Brazil, and produces about 2 per cent. The domestic material, however, contains 30 per cent. or less manganese. In addition, France imports, as well as exports, a little ferromanganese from time to time.

So far as available data indicate, the French have made practically no foreign investments in manganese deposits, except in the Nicopol district, Russia. A company with a French name mined about 1,300 tons in India in 1907, out of a total of 899,055 long tons.

=Germany.=--Germany’s position with respect to manganese is very similar to that of the United States. For four years prior to 1914, Germany imported 48 to 68 per cent. of the total receipts from Russia, 25 to 35 from India, 3 to 7 from Brazil, and small quantities from Spain, Greece, and Sweden. Domestic production of ore with more than 30 per cent. manganese is negligible. Germany probably exports small quantities of ferromanganese to Sweden and other European countries, and from time to time has exported alloy to the United States.

Like the United States, however, Germany possesses extensive deposits of ferruginous manganese ore with 12 to 30 per cent. manganese; and from 1908 to 1913, produced 260,000 to 330,000 metric tons of such material, as well as 2,300,000 to 3,000,000 tons with 5 to 7 per cent. manganese. There can be little doubt that although Germany, through accumulated stocks of manganese ore and seizures in Belgium, possessed in 1914 at least two years’ supply, she was able to maintain a fairly constant rate of steel production for four years by adapting processes to economize high-grade ore and use low-grade.

Germans appear to have purchased manganese deposits in Russia and Brazil only, and these have yielded only a small part of the annual imports. In the Chiaturi district of Russia, however, where most of the deposits are owned by natives, a German company, Gelsenkirchen Gesellschaft, reported to be a subsidiary of the Krupp company, was established about 1910, to purchase property as well as trade with and offer financial assistance to the producers. It is reported that this company alone exported about one-third of the output of the district. Germans are reported to own a part of one of several companies operating in the Nicopol district, Russia.

SUMMARY

A review of the manganese ore industry, including features of the deposits, their geographic distribution and ownership, indicates several definite conclusions:

1. The surface outcrops of most manganese deposits give reliable information concerning the size and grade of the deposits, and the most desirable ore occurs in a surface zone scarcely 100 feet deep.

2. Except in Russia and Spain, the most productive mines are open-cuts, and mining is quickly and easily accomplished at minimum expense. Extensive operations in advance of production are rarely necessary.

3. The countries that possess the largest and richest deposits have an abundant and cheap labor supply.

4. The productive capacity of the known deposits so much exceeds the world’s demand for ore for steel making, that if any single source is temporarily eliminated, the demand can be wholly met by the remaining sources at prices that are only slightly higher than those previously prevailing.

5. The value of the material at the sources of production is relatively low among raw minerals, and ranges from one-third to one-eighth of the selling price at the points of consumption. It is evident that the cost of transportation represents a large part of the final price.

6. The working of most deposits yields so little profit, and therefore is so hazardous, that only a few foreigners own deposits in the chief producing countries.

7. The only case of commercial control, that of the Chiaturi district, Russia, by Germans, who offer the natural market, seems to have been established to counteract local political disorders rather than to eliminate competitive consumers.

8. No nation that contributes largely to the world’s steel production, except Russia, possesses domestic deposits of manganese ore sufficient to meet its needs, and all must import ore from rather remote sources. The United States and Germany, however, possess domestic deposits of ferruginous manganese ore that under great stress would probably permit independence of foreign sources.