The main types, distribution and current development of manganese ore deposits

Manganese is widely used, 90%~95% of the world's manganese is used in the metallurgical industry, the rest in the battery industry, ceramic industry, chemical industry and so on. According to the characteristics of ore-bearing rocks in the process of mineralization, the world manganese deposits are divided into five types, including marine sedimentary type, volcanic (hydrothermal)-sedimentary type, metamorphic type, hydrothermal type and supergene type, with marine sedimentary type, metamorphic type and supergene type as the main ones. By the end of 2019, the worldwide manganese reserves had reached up to 812 million tons, but their distribution is extremely uneven, mainly concentrated in South Africa, Brazil, Ukraine, Australia, Gabon, China, India, Ghana and so on, while the high quality manganese ores are mainly distributed in South Africa, Australia, Gabon and Ghana. The mineralization epoch of manganese can be divided into 7 periods, of which Proterozoic and Cenozoic are of great importance. Manganese deposits are spatially concentrated in the Transvaal Supergroup of South Africa, the Nikopol ore Basin in Ukraine, the Groote Eylandt and Pilbara Craton of Australia, the Pan-Yangtze area of China, the West African Craton. At present, manganese ore production is mainly concentrated in Kalahari and Postmasburg ore fields in South Africa, Groote Island in Australia, Moanda mine in Gabon and Nsuta mine in Ghana.