In Italy there is manganese in Tuscany, where irregular bodies of manganese and iron oxides occur in Triassic limestones. Other deposits in Liguria and Sardinia have recently yielded a little ore. Of the maximum Italian production of 18,147 metric tons (18 to 45 per cent. manganese) in 1916, 14,072 metric tons was derived from the Tuscany deposits in Tuscany. Normally the annual production has ranged from 1,600 to 4,700 tons.
In Portugal there is manganese in Alemtejo. The deposits, reported to be lenses and veins in Silurian quartzites, are owned by a Portuguese company.
Russia contains the most important manganese deposits in Europe, if not in the world. The principal mining district is near Chiaturi, in the Kutais Government, on the south side of the Caucasus Mountains, in southern Russia. Layers of oolitic grains of manganese oxides are interbedded with horizontal sandstone and shale of Lower Eocene age. Within a zone that ranges in thickness from 4.5 to 7.5 feet and averages about 6.5 feet, seven distinct layers of very pure manganese oxide aggregate about 40 inches in thickness, and the remainder is low-grade material and sand. It is estimated that an area of 120 to 143 square kilometers was originally underlain by the bed of oxides, but that about half has been removed by erosion. Estimates of reserves range from 23,000,000 tons to several hundred million tons.
The mines are operated in a crude, inefficient manner and scarcely two-thirds of the ore is recovered. The number of actual producers ranged from 183 in 1902, to 376 in 1906, but declined to 96 during the political troubles in 1908. The ore is sorted by hand and the low-grade material is washed in crude plants. From 20 to 25 per cent. of the exported material has been concentrated by washing.
In 1902 there were 5,000 concessions, of which 3,750 were owned by 14 persons, each with 25 to 500 concessions; the remainder belonged to 300 peasants and small merchants. By 1912 a producers’ association had been formed to permit the owners to deal collectively with the exporters. Large investments had also been made by German capitalists in mines as well as in undeveloped territory. The Gelsenkirchen Gesellschaft, a German firm, had been formed partly for the purpose of mining but largely to purchase and export ore to Germany. In 1912, this firm, although it produced only a little ore, exported nearly one-third of the total. German groups also established necessary financial agencies to facilitate export of ore as well as to make loans to mine operators. In 1913, of 16 exporting firms, only 3 were Russian.
The output of the mines of the Chiaturi district is hauled to Chiaturi (1.3 to 3.3 miles), loaded on narrow-gauge cars for transport to Sharopan (25 miles), and then reloaded on cars for shipment to Poti or Batum (107 miles), the ports of export. Large stocks ranging from 1,030,000 tons in 1912, to 1,525,000 tons in 1908, are kept at Chiaturi, Poti and Batum. From 1910 to 1912, the distribution of exports ranged as follows: Holland (for Germany), 30 to 43 per cent.; England, 22 to 23 per cent.; Belgium (largely for Germany), 15 to 21 per cent.; Germany (direct), 5 per cent.; France, 4 to 6 per cent.; United States, 4 to 10 per cent.; Austria, 4 to 10 per cent. About 1913, an export tax equal to 40 cents per long ton was levied by the Russian government.
It is estimated that from 1848 to 1914, inclusive, this deposit yielded about 11,000,000 tons of washed ore of marketable grade. The maximum production of 1,300,000 tons was attained in 1913.
Another important manganese mining region is the Nicopol district, in the Province of Ekaterinoslav, north of the Black Sea. In this district a bed of manganese oxides lies between clays and sandstone of Oligocene age. This bed is 1 to 5 feet thick, averaging nearly 3 feet. It is estimated to extend over an area of 20 square kilometers (7.5 square miles) and to contain 7,400,000 tons of manganese ore. The ore is mined and washed in a crude way to free it from the attached clay.
The deposits in this district are probably owned largely by Russians, although French capital is interested in one company and German capital in another. During the period 1901 to 1910, between 80 and 90 per cent. of the production was consumed in southern Russia and the remainder was exported. From 1886, when the deposits were first exploited, the output rose rather steadily to the maximum of 271,000 tons in 1907, then declined to 173,000 tons in 1910. The total production of the district is about 1,800,000 tons.
Manganese deposits are also known in the Province of Podolien and Terek, and in the governments of Tiflis, Erwin, Elisabetpol, and Perm.