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You've probably heard of manganese nodules, those funny blobs found in the deep ocean. Remember when Howard Hughes built a ship to explore mining them, and they were going to be a great new natural resource? Turns out the whole thing was a cover story for the CIA's attempt to raise a sunken Soviet submarine. Seriously, it is now a well established fact that the Hughes Glomar Explorer was built to CIA specs, and the manganese nodules story was just as story.
The nodules are real, and they do exist in the deep ocean, I even have one, they just aren't nearly as exciting as they were made out to be. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of anything exciting to say about manganese other than this story. It's used in the Sacagawea Dollar coin?
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Small lump 99.95%.
Kindly donated by David Franco, who sent many elements after seeing the slashdot discussion.
Source: David Franco
Contributor: David Franco
Acquired: 17 May, 2002
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 99.95%
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Fine Powder.
This is a fine powder of manganese. Gets on everything. Weighs more than you'd expect for a powder. Highly toxic.
Source: Mark Rollog
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 20 July, 2002
Price: $7
Size: 0.0001"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: Powders
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  Lots of lumps.
This is about a pound of lumps similar to the one I got from David Franco (see above). Since I know Franco sends only the very purest of samples, and since these look identical to the one he sent, I feel reasonably confident in assigning them a similar purity. They were obviously created by the same basic process.
Source: eBay seller snooj
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 22 August, 2002
Price: $10
Size: 0.75"
Purity: 99.9%
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Sample from the RGB Set.
The Red Green and Blue company in England sells a very nice element collection in several versions. Max Whitby, the director of the company, very kindly donated a complete set to the periodic table table.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description or the company's website which includes many photographs and pricing details. I have two photographs of each sample from the set: One taken by me and one from the company. You can see photographs of all the samples displayed in a periodic table format: my pictures or their pictures. Or you can see both side-by-side with bigger pictures in numerical order.
The picture on the left was taken by me. Here is the company's version (there is some variation between sets, so the pictures sometimes show different variations of the samples):
Source: Max Whitby of RGB
Contributor: Max Whitby of RGB
Acquired: 25 January, 2003
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: 99.9%
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Sample from the Everest Set.
Up until the early 1990's a company in Russia sold a periodic table collection with element samples. At some point their American distributor sold off the remaining stock to a man who is now selling them on eBay. The samples (except gases) weigh about 0.25 grams each, and the whole set comes in a very nice wooden box with a printed periodic table in the lid.
To learn more about the set you can visit my page about element collecting for a general description and information about how to buy one, or you can see photographs of all the samples from the set displayed on my website in a periodic table layout or with bigger pictures in numerical order.
Source: Rob Accurso
Contributor: Rob Accurso
Acquired: 7 February, 2003
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Donated
Size: 0.2"
Purity: >99%
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Museum-grade sample.
In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings).
This vial of manganese contains 70+ grams of electrolytic manganese plate, very beautiful lustrous stuff.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 February, 2004
Text Updated: 11 August, 2007
Price: See Listing
Size: 2"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: RGB Samples
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Museum-grade sample.
In early 2004 Max Whitby and I started selling individual element samples identical or similar to the samples we use in the museum displays we build. These are top-quality samples presented in attractive forms appropriate to the particular element. They are for sale from Max's website and also on eBay where you will find an ever-changing selection of samples (click the link to see the current listings).
This flame-sealed, argon-purged ampule of manganese contains 50+ grams of electrolytic manganese plate, very beautiful lustrous stuff.
I chose this sample to represent its element in my Photographic Periodic Table Poster. The sample photograph includes text exactly as it appears in the poster, which you are encouraged to buy a copy of.
Source: Theodore Gray
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 24 February, 2004
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: See Listing
Size: 0.5"
Purity: >99%
Sample Group: RGB Samples
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Mini element collection.
This is a nice little set from the 1960's. The enclosed price list indicates it cost a few dollars, and the enclosed mercury sample indicates it predates current environmental concerns! Here's a picture of the whole 2-box set:
Source: Blake Ferris
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 July, 2004
Price: $61/set
Size: 1"
Purity: >98%
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Mini element collection.
For some reason the set described in the previous sample contains two different samples of manganese, one in each box. Go figure.
Source: Blake Ferris
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 15 July, 2004
Price: $61/set
Size: 1"
Purity: >98%
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Heavy lump of master alloy.
I think this is a lump (about 11 pounds) of manganese-steel master alloy. Etching with HCl (see next sample) produced an interesting dendritic structure, indicating that the material is not homogeneous. The source described it as pure manganese, but this is not likely.
Source: eBay seller grandejunquetion
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 9 February, 2009
Text Updated: 8 February, 2009
Price: $10
Size: 6"
Purity: <70%
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Manganese oxide pigment tile.
Manganese oxide has been found used as a pigment in cave paintings from as long as 17,000 years ago. This tile is not quite that old, but according to the seller it dates to about 1800, making it a good 200 years old.
Source: eBay seller chrisbuckman
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 11 March, 2009
Text Updated: 12 March, 2009
Price: $45
Size: 4"
Purity: <5%
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Small lithium-manganese battery.
This small lithium cell is listed under manganese because, while everyone calls them "lithium batteries", they also have other elements in the electrolyte, in this case manganese dioxide.
Source: Radio Shack
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 2 April, 2009
Text Updated: 7 April, 2009
Price: $5
Size: 0.5"
Purity: <50%
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Manganese Nodule.
Do you remember when manganese nodules were going to be the next great gold rush? When a great new natural resource was going to be unleashed just as soon as someone figured out how to dredge them up from the incredibly deep ocean? Did you ever wonder if there might not be some in shallower water?
Well, guess what: The whole thing was a complete fabrication. The CIA wanted to recover a Soviet submarine that had gone down in very, very deep water in the Pacific, and they needed a cover story because they knew that there was no way they could build and deploy the highly specialized kind of ship required to recover something from such great depth without the Russians (who knew exactly where their submarine had gone down) figuring out that something was up.
So they enlisted Howard Hughes, the richest man in the world at the time and a notable nutcase, to pretend that he thought these manganese nodules, which just happened to exist only at great depths, were the next big thing. He built a large, specialized deep sea recovery ship, the Glomar Explorer, and sent it to find, um, um, manganese nodules, that's right, we're looking for manganese nodules.
They actually did find the Soviet submarine and were able to recover parts of it. Eventually people forgot about the manganese nodules.
If you don't believe me, read this report on the subject:
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/jennifer.htm
This particular nodule was recovered from 5100m of water in the central pacific by the MS Valdiva working for the Metallgesellschaft AG, Frankfurt am Main. I wonder if they thought they were going to get rich.
Source: eBay seller mitryrock
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 3 June, 2003
Price: $20.50
Size: 1"
Composition: MnNiCuCo
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RbMnF3 crystal.
I don't even know what you'd call this other than by its chemical name: It's a pretty pinkish little bar of what is probably a single crystal, crudely cut and roughly surfaced, but not polished to any significant degree. It came from a batch of old samples and research materials being discarded by Ethan's university. The fact that it's translucent and colored makes me think it might be intended as some kind of laser material, whether it worked or not I have no idea. The fact that they threw it away may or may not indicate something about its usefulness.
Source: Ethan Currens
Contributor: Ethan Currens
Acquired: 16 March, 2007
Text Updated: 14 October, 2008
Price: Donated
Size: 1"
Composition: RbMnF3
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Eudyalite.
Description from the source:
Eudyalite (Na4(CaCe)2(Fe+2Mn+2Y+ZrSi8O22(OHCl)2 trig.), Kipawa Alcalyne Complex, Villedieu Tow., Quebec, Canada. Red, granular, with white fibrous Agrellite and beige Vlasovite. A rich thumbnail. 2,2x1,7x1 cm; 5 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 September, 2008
Text Updated: 28 September, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 0.85"
Composition: Na4(CaCe)2(Fe,2Mn,2Y).ZrSi8O22(OHCl)2
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Rhodochrosite.
Description from the source:
Rhodochrosite (Mn+2 CO3 trig.), Pachapaqui, Ancash, Peru. Nice pink crystal clusters. 4x4x2 cm; 40 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 1.6"
Composition: MnCO3
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Pyroxmangite.
Description from the source:
Pyroxmangite (Mn+2 Si O3 tric. ), Conselheiro Lafaiete, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Massive, cleavaged. 8,5x4,5x1,5 cm; 70 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 September, 2008
Text Updated: 1 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 3.3"
Composition: MnSiO3
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Huebnerite.
Description from the source:
Huebnerite (Mn+2 WO4 mon.), Huayllapon Mine, Pasto Bueno, Ancash, Peru. Very nice biterminated crystal, black reddish, with Quartz, high lustre. 6,5x3,5x1,8 cm; 82 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 October, 2008
Text Updated: 16 March, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 2.5"
Composition: MnWO4
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Spessartite.
Description from the source:
Spessartite (Mn+23 Al2 (Si O4)3 cub.), Tongbei, Yunxiao, Fujian, China. Perfect crystals on matrix. 5x3,5x3 cm; 50 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 26 October, 2008
Text Updated: 26 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 2"
Composition: Mn+23Al2(SiO4)3
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Manganaxinite.
Description from the source:
Manganaxinite (Ca2 Mn+2 Al2 B Si4 O15 (OH) tric.), Dalnegorsk, Russia. Brown greenish, bladed crystal cluster. 2,5x2x1,5 cm; 8 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 30 October, 2008
Text Updated: 31 October, 2008
Price: Trade
Size: 1"
Composition: Ca2Mn+2Al2BSi4O15(OH)
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Ankerite.
Description from the source:
Ankerite (Ca (Fe+2 Mg Mn) (CO3)2 trig.), Laubuseschbach, Taunus, Germany. Brown crystal cluster on the same matrix. 3x2x1,8 cm; 15 g.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2009
Text Updated: 10 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 1.2"
Composition: Ca(FeMgMn)(CO3)2
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Bixbyite.
Description from the source:
Bixbyite ((Mn+3 Fe+3)2 O3 cub.), Thomas Range, Utah, USA. Perfect crystal. 0,9x0,8x0,8 cm; 9 g with box.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 10 January, 2009
Text Updated: 10 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 0.35"
Composition: (Mn,Fe)2O3
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Manganite.
Description from the source:
Manganite (Mn+3 O (OH) mon.), Ilfeld, Harz, Germany. Isolated, terminated black crystals. 1,3x0,6x0,5 cm the bigger; 3 g all.
Source: Simone Citon
Contributor: John Gray
Acquired: 28 January, 2009
Text Updated: 29 January, 2009
Price: Trade
Size: 0.5"
Composition: MnO(OH)
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Ni-Cad battery.
A common nickel-cadmium battery. These have fallen out of favor due to the toxied nature of cadmium. Nickel metal hydride and lithium ion batteries are pretty much better in all ways..
Source: eBay
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 11 March, 2009
Text Updated: 12 March, 2009
Price: $5
Size: 2"
Composition: NiCdMn
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