It is used as a ferro-alloy. The purpose of the input is to neutralize the negative effects of sulphur on the high temperature strength of steel and to act as a cleanser in the manufacture of steel.
Image Source: notanminerals.com/Manganese.JPG
Percentage of manganese up to 14% give steel a hard surface but tough core, needed in rock crushers and railroad switches.
Manganese is also used in the manufacture of bricks, glazed pottery, plastics, floor tile, glass, varnish and dry- cell batteries.
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Manganese compounds are used in making disinfecting liquids; as a decolorize in glass making; and for the manufacture of bleaching powder, used in the textile industry.
Mangnese is mixed with copper to produce manganese-bronze, and with nickel to produce ‘manganin’ which is highly resistant to corrosion.
Brazil-Near Mecapa in Amapa, Minas Gerais, and Urucum near Corumba in western Mato Grosso
Others-Deposits as nodules especially in the Pacific Ocean