Ferromanganese Crusts of the North Pacific Ocean
П. Е. Михайлик, А. И. Ханчук, Е. В. Михайлик, В. А. Рашидов, D. P. Savelyev, Н. В. Зарубина
Abstract
The morphology and the mineral and chemical composition (48 elements) of ferromanganese crusts from the northern part of the Emperor Ridge (Detroit, Hanzei, Suizei guyots), the Amlia, Rat, and Stalemate Fracture Zones in the northwest of the Pacific Plate, as well as submarine volcanoes of the Kuril and Aleutian Island arcs were studied. The contents of major, trace, and rare-earth elements were determined in the major mineral fractions of ferromanganese crusts (carbonate, oxide manganese, and iron hydroxide), which served as sorbents for cobalt and other strategic metals, as well as in the aluminosilicate residual fraction. It has been established that economically promising hydrogenic crusts containing strategic metals are widespread in the North Pacific Ocean. Criteria are proposed for evaluating the contribution of various metal sources to the formation of crusts, which can also be used in the study of other similar deposits.