Manganese(II) oxide that the Mn ions form a face centered cubic magnetic sub-lattice where there are ferromagnetically coupled sheets that are anti-parallel with adjacent sheets. Manganese(II) oxide undergoes the chemical reactions typical of an ionic oxide. Upon treatment with acids, it converts to the corresponding manganese(II) salt and water. Oxidation of manganese(II) oxide gives manganese(III) oxide. MnO occurs in nature as the rare mineral manganosite. Commercially it is prepared by reduction of MnO with hydrogen, carbon monoxide or methane, e.g.: MnO can also be prepared by decarbonation of the carbonate: This calcining process is conducted anaerobically, lest MnO form. An alternative route,
Manganese nodule Manganese nodule Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. The core may be microscopically small and is sometimes completely transformed into manganese minerals by crystallization. When visible to the naked eye, it can be a small test (shell) of a microfossil (radiolarian or foraminifer), a phosphatized shark tooth, basalt debris or even fragments of earlier nodules. As nodules can be found in vast quantities, and contain valuable metals, deposits were identified as having economic interest in the 1960s by John Mero. Nodules