Analysis of Fe-Mn-deposits from the ocean@en

A compilation of published and unpublished chemical analyses of samples of ferromanganese deposits from the ocean floor reveals that only in relatively few areas of the world are the copper and nickel contents sufficiently high for the nodules to represent a potential source of metals. The North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans are characterized by deposits whose metal content (Cu, Ni, Mn and Co) are well below the minimum values necessary for economic exploitation. The situation is more favorable in the Pacific Ocean and most encouraging in the North Pacific. In the South Pacific, nodules containing over 1% Ni and lesser amounts of copper occur in the Peru Basin, in deep waters east of the Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu Plateau, and within the Southwest Pacific Basin. The relatively low Cu and Ni values obtained in these areas may eliminate them as prospective mining sites. Only in the North Pacific do the analyses consistently show values greater than 1% Cu and 1% Ni, and these nodules, therefore, are the immediate target of the ocean mining industry. The deposits of interest lie north of the equator in a broad band between 6° 30' N and 20° N and stretching from 110° W to 180° W. Maximum copper and nickel values occur along a line 8° N to 10° 30'N and 131°3 0'W to 145° W.