• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.116-121
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• 2006

Fundamental investigations have been carried out to find the applicability of manganese nodule as an adsorbent of nickel ion with an intention that nickel can be secured in manganese nodule along with the treatment of wastewater. The average content of manganese in nodules which used in the experiments was about 27%. The content of nickel in manganese nodules was observed to increase up to 4 times higher with comparison to its original value after adsorption. When the initial concentration of nickel ion in artificial wastewater was lower than 500 mg/L, its adsorbed amount on manganese nodule was shown to increase continuously. However, no more than about 82 mg/L of nickel was attained at higher initial nickel ion concentration than 500 mg/L. The adsorption of nickel ion was increased with temperature under experimental conditions and as the size of manganese nodule particles became smaller more nickel ion was adsorbed on adsorbent. Regarding the effect of pH, the adsorption of nickel ion was more hindered as the solution became acidic. Adsorption behavior of nickel ion on manganese nodule was found to follow the Freundlich model well and kinetic analysis showed that the adsorption reaction of nickel ion was second order. Thermodynamic parameters for the nickel ion adsorption were estimated on the basis of thermodynamic equations and they were in good agreement with experimental results.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2004

$SiO_2$ and CaO are added to decrease the smelting temperature in the reduction-smelting method for manganese nodule processing. These elements are components of the manganese nodules and might be very important controlling factors in the processing due to the locally variable content. The 707 chemical data of manganese nodules acquired from 1994 to 2001 in KODOS(Korea Deep Ocean Survey) area were used for the hierarchical cluster analysis. The chemical data were classified by the morphological types, and the averages of the chemical data for each station were classified by the facies groups and the localities. All data are plotted on the $SiO_2-CaO-MnO$ phase diagram at $1773^{\circ}K$ to compare with the best compositional area in the nodule smelting. Variations and distributions of $SiO_2$ and CaO in KODOS nodules were also reviewed. The mineral phases assigned by the cluster analysis are CFA(Carbonate Fluorapatite), Fe-oxide, Al-silicate, and Mn-oxide. MnO contents are generally higher than $SiO_2$ contents in most of the morphological types except for the Is- and It-type. The Dt- and Tt-type show wider range and the E-types show high anomaly in their CaO contents. The stations which belong to facies group A and B show generally higher MnO contents than $SiO_2$ contents, however, the stations of facies group C and D show wide range in their MnO and $SiO_2$ contents. It seems to be very important to control the $SiO_2$ contents in the processing because of the wide range in the northern area. The additions of approximately 10 wt.% CaO and 10 wt.% $SiO_2$ are recommended for the northern area, whereas, the additions of approximately 10 wt.% CaO and 20 wt.% $SiO_2$ are recommended for the southern area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 1996

The occurrence, optical property, chemical composition, crystal structure and formation environments of the phillipsite within deep-sea manganese nodules were systematically investigated in this study. Phillipsite in manganese nodules occurs in nucleus of nodules along with consolidated bottom sediments, weathered volcanic debris, and interstitial grains in the each layer of manganese encrusts. Phillipsite is predominantly pseudomorphs of volcanic shards, and occurs as white to pale yellow in color lath-shaped and equant crystals. These show aggregations of prismatic, blocky, and bladed of 2 to $20{\mu}m$ long, and 2 to $5{\mu}m$ thick. The simplified average chemical formula of phillipsite is $({Ca_{0.1}Mg_{0.3}Na_{1.1}K_{1.5}})_3{(Fe_{0.3}Al_{4.2}Si_{11.8})O_{32}{\cdot}10H_2O}$ with a very siliceous and alkalic. The $Si/(Al+Fe^{+3})$ ratio is 2.37 to 2.78 and alkalis greatly exceed the divalent exchangeable cations, and Na/K ratio is 0.59 to 0.81. The phillipsite is monoclinic ($P2_l/m$) with the unit-cell parameters, $a=10.005{\AA}$, $b=14.129{\AA}$, $c=8.686{\AA}$, ${\beta}=124.35^{\circ}$, and $V=1013.6{\AA}^3$. Phillipsites in manganese nodules formed apparently authigenically at a temperature less than $10^{\circ}C$, and they crystallized at a pressure of less than 0.7 kb, and pH of about 8 in deep-sea environments.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

In this study, we explore the morphological and geochemical characteristics for 440 manganese nodules collected from two different water depths [ARA12B-St52 (150 m, n = 239) and ARA12B-St58i (73 m, n = 201)] on the continental shelf of the East Siberian Sea from the ARA12B expedition in 2021. We also discussed the variations in the characteristics of manganese nodules with varying water depths in the Arctic Sea. The sizes of the nodules are generally greater than 3 cm at both sites. However, there is an obvious difference in the morphology with water depths. For the nodules collected at 150 m, brown-black colored tabular, tube, and ellipsoidal shapes with a rough surface texture are dominant. On the other hand, yellow-brown tabular shapes with a smooth surface texture are common for the nodules collected at 73 m. Furthermore, the slope of trend line between size and weight is significantly different at both sites: particularly, the slopes of nodules at 150 and 73 m are 1.60 and 0.84, respectively. This indicates the difference in the internal structure, porosity, and constituting elements between both nodules. Micro X-ray Flourescence (µ-XRF) results clearly demonstrate that the internal textures and chemical compositions are different with water depths. The nodules at 150 m are composed of a thick Mn-layer and a thin Fe-layer centered on the nucleus, while the nodules at 73 m are alternately grown with thin Mn- and Fe- layers around the nucleus. The average chemical compositions obtained by µ-XRF are 40.6 wt% Mn, 5.2 wt% Fe, and 7.9 Mn/Fe ratio at 150 m, and 10.3 wt% Mn, 19.0 wt% Fe, and 0.6 Mn/Fe ratio at 73 m. The chemical compositions of the nodules at 150 m are similar to those of nodules from the Peru Basin in the Pacific Ocean, while the compositions of the nodules at 73 m are similar to those of nodules from the Cook Islands or the Baltic Sea. The observed morphological and geochemical characteristics of the nodules show a clear difference at the two sites, which indicates that the aqueous conditions and formation processes of the nodules in the Arctic Sea vary with the water depths.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.167-176
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• 2009

Cobalt-rich manganese crusts on seamounts have received an increasing amount of attention as future resources for Co, Ni, Cu, and Mn. A dearth of detailed information regarding the relevant distribution characteristics, mining technologies, and ore processing technologies, however, has precluded potential evaluations of the technical and economic advantages of these crusts. In the past 4 years, Korea has undertaken a survey of the cobalt-rich manganese crusts in and around the Magellan Seamount and Mid-Pacific Mountains. This paper introduces the preliminary feasibility study of the distribution features and R&D results centered around the development of the cobalt-rich manganese crusts. The evaluation model was developed by modifying the model for the manganese nodules. In addition to considering the geological and geophysical differences between the manganese nodules and the cobalt-rich manganese crusts, an ore dressing subsystem was installed in the model. The mining subsystem is composed of a self-propelled collector--a pipeline with submersible hydraulic pumps for crust lifting. The smelting and chlorine leach method was selected for metallurgical processing. The production scales were established at 2,500t/y of cobalt metal. The production of three metals--cobalt, nickel, and copper--was considered in terms of metallurgical processing. The economic feasibility analyses demonstrated that the payback period was 11.4 years, the NPV was 36M$, and the IRR was 9.6% with the economic factors in the case of a cobalt price of US$ 25/lb. It was also demonstrated in this study that the payback period was 8.6 years, the NPV was 154M$, and the IRR was 14.0% in the case of a cobalt price of US$ 30/lb. This indicates that the approach under consideration appears to offer greater potential given the predicted metal prices.

• Proceedings of the Petrological Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.99-102
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• 1999

• Proceedings of the Petrological Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.70-74
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• 1999

• Proceedings of the Petrological Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.95-98
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• 1999

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.373-381
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• 2014

Korea contract Mn-nodule field in the NE equatorial Pacific is composed of seven sectors with average water depths of 4,513-5,025 m. Of the various factors controlling the properties of Mn-nodule, it seems that water depth is likely connected to the chemical composition and occurrence of nodules. To test whether such an assumption held in each sector, we reviewed previous research data accumulated since 1994 for one of the northern sectors (hereafter KR1) where there are stark contrasts in water depth. High-resolution seabed mapping clearly separates a northern part (KR1N) from a deeper southern part (KR1S), cutting across in the middle of the KR1. In addition, significant volcanic activities forming numerous seamounts are distinctive especially in KR1N. In terms of nodule occurrence, manganese nodules in KR1S are comparatively larger (2-4 cm) with a discoidal shape, while those in KR1N are generally small (<2 cm) with poly-lobate and irregular shapes. Nodules in KR1N also have lower Co, Cu, Mn and Ni, and higher Fe contents. The spatial separation in nodule characteristics might be caused by volcanic activities in KR1N rather than water depth contrast. During the formation of the seamounts in KR1N, rock fragments and volcanic ashes as new nuclei of the nodules would have been continuously generated. As a result, the nodules could not grow larger than 2 cm and display the shapes of a newbie (i.e., irregular and poly-lobate shapes). Moreover, significant Fe supply from volcanic activities probably decreases the Mn/Fe ratio, which may lead to the KR1 nodules being misinterpreted as a hydrogenic in origin compared to other sectors where a high Mn/Fe ratio is present.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 1995

The kriging model, one of the geostatistical models, has been used to evaluate the deep-sea manganese nodule deposits until now. The distribution of the manganese nodule deposits estimated by the model shows the smooth surface as well as much difference from the actual distribution. Subsequently, it estimates the deposit distribution roughly in terms of the limited data of surveyed zone. Therefore, this paper presents the interpretation methodology of the deep-sea manganese nodule deposit distribution by using the fractal model to overcome the problems caused by the geostatistical model. Also, the manganese nodule distributions are interpreted by using the manganese nodule data sampled in the GH82-4 zone, west longitude $165^{\circ}40^{\prime}-169^{\circ}00^{\prime}$, and south latitude $0^{\circ}00^{\prime}-2^{\circ}40^{\prime}$ neighboring Nova-Canton Trough in the Pacific Ocean which was surveyed by the Geological Survey of Japan in 1982.