Distribution of Manganese Ore Deposit in Sukaagung Village, Tanggamus Regency, Lampung

Abstract

Manganese ore deposits are one of the most widely used metal alloys in everyday life. Generally, manganese ore deposits are present as residual deposits along with iron ore at certain pH and Eh conditions. These deposits can come from the chemical weathering of crystalline schist, limestone, and dolomite rocks or earlier manganese deposits. In Lampung, the presence of manganese ore can be found in Sukaagung Village, Tanggamus Regency, but little research has been done to determine the distribution and potential of manganese ore in this area. Therefore, this study aims to determine manganese ore distribution and enrichment process in the study area using field data and petrography. In general, manganese ore deposits in Sukaagung Village are present as veins that fill fractures and nodules. Manganese ore deposits that were present as fracture fillers were found intersecting marble, quartzite, and mica schist of the Complex of Gunungkasih Tak Terpisahkan, tuffaceous siltstone from Menanga Formation, and the lapilli tuff and andesite of the Hulusimpang Formation. These deposits are present in manganese as botryoidal and dendritic forms in rock fractures. Meanwhile, manganese ore deposits in the form of nodules are present in submarine volcanic sedimentary rocks in the Menanga Formation. The presence of manganese ore deposits in the study area is thought to be the result of the leaching of manganese elements from the banded iron formation which is associated with the Permian-Cretaceous magmatism, hydrothermal submarine, and rift basin. The acidic fluid dissolves other elements and leaves manganese ore as an economical mineral. Manganese ore is then carried by subsurface fluids, filling fractures in Paleozoic-Tertiary rocks. Even though the distribution of manganese ore in Sukaagung Village is quite wide, further research is needed to determine the potential and reserves of manganese ore in the study area.