Manganese

• Manganese is not found as a free element in nature.
• It is often found in combination with iron.
• The most important manganese ore is pyrolusite.
• Manganese is primarily used in iron and steel industry.
• It is the basic raw material for manufacturing steel alloys.
• 6 kilograms of manganese ore is required for manufacturing one tonne of steel.
• It  is also used in the manufacturing of bleaching powder, insecticides, paints, and batteries.

Manganese Ore Distribution in India

• India processes second largest reserves in the world after Zimbabwe; 430 million tonnes
• India is the world’s fifth largest producer after China, Gabon, South Africa and Australia.
• Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the major manganese ore producing states.
• Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh together produce more than half of India’s manganese

State wise reserves of Manganese

• Odisha (44%),
• Karnataka (22%),
• Madhya Pradesh (13%),
• Maharashtra (8%),
• Andhra Pradesh (4%)
• Jharkhand and Goa (3% each),
• Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal (remaining 3 per cent).

Maharashtra

• Produces about 27.66 per cent of Indian manganese.
• The main belt is in Nagpur and Bhandara districts.
• High grade ore is found in Ratnagiri district also.

Madhya Pradesh

• Produces about 27.59 per cent of India’s manganese ore.
• The main belt extends in Balaghat and Chhindwara districts.
• It is just an extension of the Nagpur Bhandara belt of Maharashtra.

Odisha

• 24 per cent production. [1^st in reserves but 3^rd in prduction]
• Gondite [regional names] deposits occur in Sundargarh district and Kodurite and Khondolite deposits in Kalahandi and Koraput Districts.
• Manganese is also mined from the lateritic deposits in Bolangir and Sambalpur districts

Andhra Pradesh

• 13% of India’s manganese production.
• Srikakulam and Vishakhapatnam districts.
• Srikakulam district has the distinction of being the earliest producer (1892) of manganese ore in India.
• Cuddapah, Vijayanagaram and Guntur are other manganese producing districts.

Karnataka

• 6 per cent of India’s manganese.
• Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Bellary, Chitradurg and Tumkur districts.

Other producers

• Goa,
• Panchmahals and Vadodara in Gujarat,
• Udaipur and Banswara in Rajasthan and
• Singhbhum and Dhanbad districts in Jharkhand are other producers of manganese.

Export of Manganese

• Four-fifths of the total production is consumed domestically.
• Exports constantly decreasing due to increasing domestic demand.
• Japan is the largest buyer of Indian manganese.
• The other buyers are the USA, UK, Germany, France, Norway.