The Economic Aspect of GeologyLeith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)
Science
The Economic Aspect of Geology
Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)
Geology, Economic
Like iron ores, manganese ores consist principally of the oxides of
manganese (pyrolusite, psilomelane, manganite, wad, and others), and
rarely the carbonate of manganese (rhodochrosite). They are similar in
their geologic occurrence to many of the iron ores and are often mixed
with iron ores as manganiferous iron ores and ferruginous manganese
ores.
The higher grade manganese ores are of two general types. Those of the
Caucasus district in Russia are sedimentary beds, oolitic in texture,
which were originally deposited as rather pure manganese oxides, and
which have undergone little secondary concentration. They are mined in
many places in much the same manner as coal. Those of India and Brazil
are chiefly surface concentrations of the manganese oxides, formed by
the weathering of underlying rocks which contain manganese carbonates
and silicates. The origin of the primary manganese minerals in the
Indian and in some of the Brazilian deposits is obscure. In others of
the Brazilian ores, the manganese was deposited in sedimentary layers
interbedded with siliceous "iron formations," and the whole series has
subsequently been altered and recrystallized.
The manganese ores of Philipsburg, Montana, the principal large
high-grade deposits mined in the United States, were derived by surface
weathering from manganese carbonates which form replacements in
limestone near the contact with a great batholith of granodiorite. The
primary manganese minerals probably owe their origin to hot magmatic
solutions, as suggested by the close association of the ores with the
igneous rock, the presence of minerals containing chlorine, fluorine,
and boron, and the development in the limestone of dense silicates and
mineral associations characteristic of hot-water alteration. The
manganese ores are mined principally in the oxidized zone. Rich silver
ores are found below the water table, but mainly in veins independent of
the manganese deposits.
At Butte, Montana, a little high-grade manganese material has been
obtained from the unoxidized pink manganese carbonate, which is a common
mineral in some of the veins. It is associated with quartz and metallic
sulphides and is similar in origin to the copper ores of the same
district (pp. 201-202).
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