Abstract
Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust/nodules, manganese nodules are underwater minerals and they are unused resources where the commercial potential will depend on trends in mining and treatment costs of onshore mines. Manganese nodules were discovered in 1870 and the ore contains Mn, Ni, Cu, and Co as valuable metals and hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical treatment has been investigated. Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust/nodules were discovered in 1980 and they have attracted attention since the cobalt content exceeded 1 percent. During the mining operation, unfavorable waste rock may be dredged with the ferromanganese oxide components and the ores require mineral processing to remove the substrate/nuclei rock before the metallurgical treatment. This paper reviews the mineral processing methods and further metallurgical treatments of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust/nodules.
