Peculiarity Of Electrolytic Manganese

The great majority of manganese refined each year is used as an alloy in the processing of other metals. Steelmaking accounts for most of the total with the purer electrolytic manganese used in the production of high grade stainless steel. It is also used in making a corrosion resistant aluminum.

Electrolytic manganese dioxide is predominately used in making the cathode, or positive pole, of dry cell batteries. New battery designs and applications rely more heavily on manganese. The lithium-ion batteries that power many electric vehicles typically use EMM in making the cathode and EMD in producing the battery's anode.

Manganese is a common element, but the majority of its deposits are in the form of nodules on the seafloor. Commercially viable deposits on land are not evenly distributed, with China, Australia, and South Africa having significant mining and production capabilities. Countries that rely heavily on imports of the metal sometimes view the concentration of mining and processing in so few hands as a strategic threat to their economy.