Nodul Mangan sebagai Sumber Daya Mineral Masa Depan

The development of advanced electronic technology has an impact on the growing world metal demand. The reserves of mineral resources on land are decreasing and it encourages the search of mineral resources seaward, but the technology to exploit this mineral are still developed. There are several types of mineral resources that can be found on the sea such as pollymetallic nodule, metal crust, and seafloor massive sulphide.The emergence of polymetallic nodules or commonly known as manganese nodules has been known for more than a century. These nodules are formed from the oxides and hydroxides of iron and mangan and contain various types of metals that have economic value such as nickel, copper, and cobalt. These nodules are considered by many to be an important future source of minerals that are crucial to industrial and national security interest of developed country. These nodules can be formed through a hydrogenetic, diagenetics, or hydrogenetic-diagenetic processes. Nodules of mangan can be found in almost all seas and even in fresh water. This nodule is found abundantly in some location such as in the basin of northern Peru, the South Pacific, the central Pacific, North Pacific and the Clarion Clipperton, Carlsberg Ridge, Basin Indian section middle, and other Indian Ocean Basin. The metallurgy process such as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy are commonly used to extract this mineral. Lonawarta Majalah Semi Populer, Vol. XXI, No. 2. Hal. 19-26