Harrogate Ltd Answers Some of the Most Commonly Asked Questions Related to Manganese Ore
Throughout American high schools, the Periodic Table is featured as the cornerstone of chemistry and used to introduce students to a number of scientific topics. However, the elements featured in the periodic table have major significance outside of the classroom. While the periodic elements are used to create numerous items seen in everyday life, American understanding of different elements remains limited. For many years, Harrogate Ltd, Zambia based manganese ore exporter, has been one of the primary manganese exporters within the Southern Africa area. Today, Zambia based Harrogate Ltd hopes to answer some of the general public’s most common questions relating to manganese ore and its many uses within manufacturing and everyday life.
What is Manganese Ore?
Manganese is a silver metallic element with a chemical symbol of MN and an atomic number of 25. While manganese itself is not a naturally occurring element, it can be found in a variety of other minerals and mineraloids such as purpurite, sugilite, rhodonite, pyrolusite, rhodochrosite, and psilomelane. Manganese is most commonly recognized by its distinctive silvery-white metal appearance. Although manganese has a relatively high melting point of 2,271 F, it can be too brittle to have structural value itself. However, manganese is an essential element often used in steelmaking as manganese removes impurities of different metals such as sulfur and oxygen while adding physical properties that strengthen the metal.
Where is Manganese Ore most commonly found?
Manganese is the fifth most abundant metal found within the earth’s crust, following only Aluminum, Iron, Magnesium, and titanium. Although manganese is most commonly found in South Africa (80%) the metal can also be found in Australia, China, Brazil, Zambia, India, Ukraine, and Gabon. Today, more than 25 million tons of manganese are mined each year, primarily in open pits. In recent years, manganese has been detected on the ocean floor, although few operations are currently in place to mine it.
What is Manganese Ore Used For?
Manganese ore is used throughout several different industries for a variety of purposes. Some of manganese ore’s most common uses include:
- In the United States, 90% of all manganese ore is used in steel production.
- Used as an alloy in aluminum and copper.
- Used in battery cathodes and to depolarize dry cell batteries.
- Used as a micronutrient in fertilizers and animal feed.
- Used to treat water and remove impurities.
- Used as a colorant in automobile undercoat paints, bricks, glass, textiles, and tiles.
