Occurrence and enrichment of critical metals in ferromanganese deposits in the western Pacific

Abstract

Co-rich ferromanganese nodules and crusts are economically valuable deep-sea ferromanganese deposits widely distributed in the western Pacific Ocean and are rich in critical metals such as Co, Ni, Cu and rare earth elements (REEs). However, the lack of fine delineation and systematic comparisons of the distributions of these critical metals in these ferromanganese deposits limits the understanding of the occurrence states of Co, Ni, Cu and REEs and the metallogenesis of ferromanganese deposits. Therefore, the authors selected one nodule and one crust from the western Pacific Ocean, and utilized high-resolution methods such as micro-area X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-XRF), laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-TOF-MS), and laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to depict elemental distribution and elemental profile.

The results show that the ferromanganese deposits are predominantly composed of Fe-vernadite with low Mn/Fe ratios. Co, Ni and Cu exist primarily in the manganate octahedral layer of Fe-vernadite. REEs mostly exist in feroxyhite of Fe-vernadite, and manganate octahedral layer of Fe-vernadite also have high Ce content. Co, Ni and Cu contents of ferromanganese deposits are closely correlated with Mn/Fe ratios: Co, Ni and Cu contents increase with Mn/Fe ratios until the Mn/Fe ratios rises up to 4, and remain stable when Mn/Fe ratios > 6. The enrichment of Co, Ni and Cu in ferromanganese deposits is controlled by the redox conditions of seawater during accretion, whereas REEs enrichment is related to Mn and Fe fluxes in seawater during accretion. The coupling relationships between elemental distributions help to reveal the elemental occurrence state, and the geochemistry of ferromanganese deposits are analyzed to identify element enrichment mechanism.