Key points
- Test results show the iron and manganese oxide in the nodules was reduced to more than 50 percent pure metals.
- Iron was reduced to 99.5 to 99.8 percent purity, higher than typical ironworks output.
- Manganese purity has not been fully evaluated but current results suggest it matches the iron’s purity.
- The process makes the iron magnetic, simplifying its separation from the other 26 metals in the nodules.
The test results show that the iron and manganese oxide of which the manganese nodules consist was reduced to more than 50 percent pure metals in the unique process used. The iron was reduced to a purity of about 99.5 to 99.8 percent, which is purer than what is normally delivered from various ironworks. The purity of the manganese remains to be evaluated in full, but at present the test results indicate that the purity of the manganese corresponds to that of the iron. One effect of the unique extraction process is that the iron becomes magnetic and is thereby simpler to separate from the other 26 metals in the manganese nodules.
