Bog Manganese

a highly dispersed mineral substance consisting of MnO₂·n H₂O and other hydroxides of manganese. It goes by various names, including earthy manganese and wad. Depending on the impurities it contains, bog manganese is divided into a number of varieties, including lampadite, containing CuO; tunnerite, containing ZnO; and asbolites, containing CoO + NiO.

Bog manganese forms powdery, contaminating masses, incrustations, dendritic films, and concretions. It is black or blackish-brown in color. Its density is 2, 800 to 4, 400 kg/m³; its hardness on the mineralogical scale is 1-4.

Bog manganese is widespread in nature as a product of the weathering of various manganese-containing minerals. It forms part of the composition of sedimentary manganese ores; it is formed in the benthic marine and lacustrine sediments. It is used as an ore along with other manganese minerals.