Manganese(II) nitrate Manganese(II) nitrate Manganese(II) nitrate are the inorganic compounds with formula Mn(NO)(HO). Each formula unit is composed of one Mn cation and two NO anions and varying amounts of water. Most common is the tetrahydrate Mn(NO)·4HO, but mono- and hexahydrates are also known as well as the anhydrous compound. Some of these compounds are useful precursors to the oxides of manganese. Manganese(II) nitrate is prepared by dissolving manganese(II) oxide in nitric acid: It can also be prepared from manganese dioxide and nitrogen dioxide: On heating to 300 °C, aqueous solutions of manganese(II) nitrate thermally decompose to form MnO and NO. Manganese(II)
Manganese as rhodochrosite (MnCO). The most important manganese ore is pyrolusite (MnO). Other economically important manganese ores usually show a close spatial relation to the iron ores. Land-based resources are large but irregularly distributed. About 80% of the known world manganese resources are in South Africa; other important manganese deposits are in Ukraine, Australia, India, China, Gabon and Brazil. According to 1978 estimate, the ocean floor has 500 billion tons of manganese nodules. Attempts to find economically viable methods of harvesting manganese nodules were abandoned in the 1970s. The CIA once used mining manganese modules on the ocean floor as a