Manganese, the hidden giant

Manganese is the most consumed metal in the world after iron and aluminium, but most of its uses are hidden from view so its importance for our society is not necessarily very obvious. Over 90% of the manganese used annually goes into metallurgical applications, primarily steelmaking - in fact, you can’t make steel without manganese. But manganese is set to become even more important as we move away from fossil fuels. New battery technologies in development that rely on manganese may revolutionize electric vehicle production; in addition, pretty much all low-carbon energy infrastructure requires vast amounts of steel and, therefore, manganese. Dr Taija Torvela explores where and how manganese deposits form.

This video is part of Taija's Youtube Channel @ourmetallicearth

#manganese #mining #steel #minerals #geology #energytransition #exploration #metals #criticalminerals #netzero #batterymetals #decarbonisation #earthscience #education

[BenSchumer-ew]

Mineralogist here. I was bored and scrolling when your video just happened to pop up and make my night. Keep up the good work! I’m very happy to see good economic geology content

[js]

Keep going. Growth is slow at first but then it takes off when people realise you are providing solid science (geology) info in a digestible fashion.

[rudycandu]

Manganese is also used as the major alloying element for making aluminum sheets.The most common use that the public experiences is the humble aluminum beverage can. Just the main body of the can (alloy 3004), but not the lid (which uses magnesium rather than manganese). Being medium strength, aluminum-manganese alloy sheets are typically in general sheet metal work.

[jaymacpherson]

While cleaning up a petroleum pipeline spill, I saw a fascinating Eh effect at a small emergent spring in a deep arroyo at the downgradient limit of the subsurface contamination. Initially the spring ran clear with a thin petroleum sheen. After a few months, the spring’s sediment turned orange from oxidizing iron mobilized from the subsurface by indigenous aerobic bacteria consuming the petroleum and oxygen in the ground water. A week later the sediment turned black from oxidizing manganese, as the Eh in the sandstone formation continued to drop. Lastly, another week passed and the sediment turned grey from oxidizing sulfur. It was fascinating to observe.

[jamesraymond]

So interesting! So well presented. Not a single unnecessary word.

[brewswillas]

Minerals precipitating in rings around bodies of water, it all makes sense. I've seen it before around thermal springs in Yellowstone but had never thought of it happening in large scale (pardon the pun). Thanks for the enlightenment!

[DR_Hiss]

Really cool info. Your channel will blow up!

[sayarci]

Thank you so much, this short and concentrate knowledge is very helpful..

[Mayo-Lord]

18:04 "we cannot really see the impacts of our activities at such great depths" This is why I have endeavored to get a degree in Marine Technology, though I am really struggling with it at the moment. Thank you Dr. Torvela for such an insightful video. I hope to learn more from you in the future.

[OzGeologyOfficial]

Great video! I love your work. Please keep it up there aren’t many videos like these ones on YouTube.

[zanderrobertson]

I'm so happy your channel showed up on my feed!! Looking forward to watching more videos ASAP

[-Tme]

Just stumbled across this in my recommendations, and I must say what a gem!
Very well presented and informative, thank you!

[thorwaldjohanson]

I'm much more familiar with high performance alloys for tools and aerospace, where manganese is usually a smaller component, and other elements such as nickel, chromium and vanadium are more important. Learning that manganese is the 3rd most used metal was news to me. Always happy to learn something new :). Btw, some small constructive feedback: the audio sounds very compressed (aggressive noise filtering) when outside. I loved the content, but you might want to invest in a lav mic. That would significantly improve the quality of the content without much cost.

[alanpeachey]

Thank you for being you, What a fabulous inside into manganese and our availability to mine it. Thank you regards I’m down under

[graemebushell]

I like your video. Very accessible information, clearly presented.

[nicevideomancanada]

This is a very interesting video. Thank you.

[chisps_]

Love this! So much useful information packed into a short, concise video.

[christopherlee]

Excellent. I always enjoy and learn something from your content.

I like the very calm and understated way you explain things while actually providing more complete information than others with a more stressful vibe.

I have been curious if some concentrations of elements could be remnants from the formation of the earth, or if they are mostly due to natural processes like this.

[malcolmanon]

Good content, adding a comment to increase the videos appeal to the YouTube algo :))