CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN MINERAL PHASES OF MANGANESE NODULES OF THE OCEAN

Abstract

Manganese nodules of the ocean are multicomponent ores, whose resources approach one trillion tons and will be commercially exploited in the not too distant future. The problem of the mineral phases to which the chemical elements of nodules are related has not yet been completly solved, even though it is extremely important both for genetic models and for selecting rational schemes for their technological development. Analyzing the correlations between elements in nodules in general terms shows that in many cases they are limited or local rather than common in character. A significant feature of the method of fractionating elements by treating samples with solvents is that it usually extracts elements from not one, but several phases combined application of different techniques has allowed us to analyze in general terms the problem of the principal components of nodules to which their chemical elements are related. For this purpose, we have used, in particular, the numerous data on certain trace elements published in recent years. The proposed estimate of the relationships of many trace elements of nodules to one or other of their principal mineral phases is still preliminary and will have to be corrected as new analytical data are obtained.