TY - JOUR
T1 - Manganese nodules in Chile, an alternative for the production of Co and Mn in the future—A review
AU - Toro, Norman
AU - Jeldres, Ricardo I.
AU - Órdenes, Javier A.
AU - ROBLES VASQUEZ, PEDRO ADRIAN
AU - Navarra, Alessandro
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - Given the active growth of emerging technology industries, it has become essential to have large quantities of critical metals to meet the current demand. In the Chilean mining industry, there is a depletion of high-grade mineral ores, and there is hence a need to increase production levels in the copper industry and diversify its market by extracting other elements. One of the strategies is to foster the production of lithium batteries, but the manufacture requires reserves of cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn). Currently, Co reserves are not being exploited in Chile, and Mn production is almost negligible. This is due to the apparent shortage of high-grade ores on the land surface of the country. Given this scenario, the seabed manganese nodules are presented as a good alternative due to their high average grades of Co and Mn, which in turn would allow the growth of strategic value-added industries including lithium battery production. Chile’s current environmental regulations prevent the exploitation of marine resources. However, given technological advances worldwide, both in collection mechanisms and extractive processes, in addition to the needs generated from the future strategic plans, leads us to think about a project to exploit manganese nodules locally.
AB - Given the active growth of emerging technology industries, it has become essential to have large quantities of critical metals to meet the current demand. In the Chilean mining industry, there is a depletion of high-grade mineral ores, and there is hence a need to increase production levels in the copper industry and diversify its market by extracting other elements. One of the strategies is to foster the production of lithium batteries, but the manufacture requires reserves of cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn). Currently, Co reserves are not being exploited in Chile, and Mn production is almost negligible. This is due to the apparent shortage of high-grade ores on the land surface of the country. Given this scenario, the seabed manganese nodules are presented as a good alternative due to their high average grades of Co and Mn, which in turn would allow the growth of strategic value-added industries including lithium battery production. Chile’s current environmental regulations prevent the exploitation of marine resources. However, given technological advances worldwide, both in collection mechanisms and extractive processes, in addition to the needs generated from the future strategic plans, leads us to think about a project to exploit manganese nodules locally.
KW - Chilean marine deposits
KW - Cobalt
KW - Manganese
KW - Manganese nodules
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089502918&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/min10080674
DO - 10.3390/min10080674
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85089502918
VL - 10
SP - 1
EP - 19
JO - Minerals
JF - Minerals
SN - 2075-163X
IS - 8
M1 - 674
ER -