Evolution of Lateritic Manganese Deposits

Manganese is a transition element placed just before Fe in the periodic table. It is, after Fe, the second most abundant heavy metal in the lithosphere, at about 0.1%, which is about 50 times less but 12 to 15 times more than Ni and Cu. The rather special electronic configuration of the Mn atom enables it to form numerous compounds of valencies between -III and + VII, although in naturally occurring minerals, usually only +II and +IV valencies are found, and more rarely +III.