Manganese Mn is an element that occurs rarely in the native state.
Specific gravity: 7.01 calculated
Hardness: 6½
Streak: Dark grey
Colour: Steel-grey
Melting point: 1250oC
Common impurities
Environments
Manganese has not been approved as a mineral species by the IMA.
It tarnishes on exposure to air and, when heated, oxidises to hausmannite (ChC).
The most stable oxidation state is Mn2+, which is a pale pink color in aqueous solutions. Also important is
Mn4+, brown/black, which is found in ramsdellite, and Mn7+ found
in the purple permanganate anion (Mn7+O4)1–. The Mn6+ oxidation state is green
(ChC).
The abundance in the Earth's crust is 0.1% by weight, 360 parts per million by moles
(ChC).
Localities
The first recorded locality was in unnamed placers, at Aldan, Sakha Republic, Russia. Manganese occurred as angular grains up
to 0.8mm, in platinum group mineral-gold placers
derived from serpentinised
ultramafic rocks (olivine -
orthoclase picrite) in a matrix of
tephroite, spessartine, chromium-rich
hausmannite and an unnamed manganese carbide, and associated with
tephroite, spessartine,
orthoclase, olivine and
gold
(AM88.933, Mindat).
Manganese-bearing minerals include:
Sulphides
alabandite
hauerite
Sulphosalts
benavidesite
ramdohrite
uchucchacuaite
Oxides
birnessite
bixbyite
braunite
chalcophanite
columbite-(Mn)
coronadite
crednerite
cryptomelane
galaxite
gerasimovskite
groutite
hausmannite
hetaerolite
hollandite
hubnerite
lindqvistite
magnetoplumbite
manganosite
plumboferrite
pyrolusite
pyrophanite
ramsdellite
ranciéite
romanèchite
tantalite-(Mn)
todorokite
wodginite
woodruffite
Hydroxides
asbolane
pyrochroite
tetrawickmanite
wickmanite
Carbonates
kutnohorite
rhodochrosite
Borates
fredrikssonite
jimboite
sussexite
wiserite
Sulphates
shigaite
Phosphates
alluaudite
bermanite
beusite
bjarebyite
eosphorite
faheyite
fairfieldite
fillowite
frondelite
gatehouseite
hagendorfite
hureaulite
jahnsite
kryzhanovskite
landesite
laueite
lehnerite
lithiophilite
lun'okite
mangangordonite
metaswitzerite
perloffite
pseudolaueite
purpurite
reddingite
robertsite
roscherite
samuelsonite
seamanite
sicklerite
stewartite
strunzite
switzerite
triplite
triploidite
varulite
väyrynenite
whiteite
wicksite
zodacite
Arsenates
allactite
arsenoclasite
brandtite
caryinite
chlorophoenicite
eveite
flinkite
fluckite
grischunite
hematolite
holdenite
jarosewichite
kolicite
kraisslite
manganberzeliite
parabrandtite
retzian
sarkinite
synadelphite
Vanadates
brackebuschite
fianelite
palenzonaite
pyrobelonite
Antimonates
katoptrite
långbanite
manganostibite
Arsenites
dixenite
magnussonite
Nesosilicates
alleghanyite
calderite
glaucochroite
hodgkinsonite
jerrygibbsite
leucophoenicite
manganhumite
sonolite
spessartine
tephroite
Sorosilicates
axinite-(Mn)
hejtmanite
hubeite
janhaugite
kentrolite
lavenite
macfallite
medaite
orientite
piemontite
pumpellyite-(Mn)
ruizite
tiragalloite
Inosilicates
bustamite
carpholite
gageite
inesite
johannsenite
kupletskite
manaksite
manganbabingtonite
manganoneptunite
natronambulite
pyroxmangite
rhodonite
saneroite
santaclaraite
serandite
schizolite
Phyllosilicates
caryopilite
eggletonite
friedelite
ganophyllite
gonyerite
kellyite
nelenite
neotocite
parsettensite
pyrosmalite-(Mn)
schallerite
yofortierite
Cyclosilicates
labuntsovite-Mn
roeblingite
steenstrupine-(Ce)
Tectosilicate
helvine
Unclassified silicates
bementite
perrierite-(La)
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