Manganese Manganese Manganese is a chemical element with symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is not found as a free element in nature; it is often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a metal with important industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steels. Historically, manganese is named for pyrolusite and other black minerals from the region of Magnesia in Greece, which also gave its name to magnesium and the iron ore magnetite. By the mid-18th century, Swedish-German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele had used pyrolusite to produce chlorine. Scheele and others were aware that pyrolusite (now known
Manganese(II) carbonate Manganese(II) carbonate Manganese carbonate is a compound with the chemical formula MnCO. Manganese carbonate occurs naturally as the mineral rhodochrosite but it is typically produced industrially. It is a pale pink, water-insoluble solid. Approximately 20,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2005. MnCO adopts a structure like calcite, consisting of manganese(II) ions in an octahedral coordination geometry. Treatment of aqueous solutions of manganese(II) nitrate with ammonia and carbon dioxide leads to precipitation of this faintly pink solid. The side product, ammonium nitrate is used as fertilizer. The carbonate is insoluble in water but, like most carbonates, hydrolyses upon treatment with acids