Manganese Nodules from the Tasman Sea, Chemical Composition Details

Two manganese nodules recovered by HMAS Kimbla from a water depth of 4300 meters in the Tasman Sea southeast of Sydney. The nodules are about 10 cm in diameter and have a high clay content with low concentrations of nickel, copper, and cobalt. This record is provided by Geoscience Australia Data and was last updated in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze the geochemical composition of deep-sea manganese nodules based on reported Ni, Cu, and Co content.
• Study the morphology and formation environment of nodules based on described size, shape, and associated calcareous mud.
• Compare mineralogical characteristics based on the reported Mn:Fe ratio and clay content.
• Map the distribution of potential mineral resources in the Tasman Sea region based on the specific location coordinates.

Strengths

• Specific chemical composition data is provided, including Ni (0.25%), Cu (0.17%), and Co (0.06%).
• Precise geographic coordinates (155° 35E, 36° 15S) and water depth (4300 m) are documented.
• Physical characteristics of the nodules are described, including diameter (~10 cm) and shape (subspherical).

Limitations

• The dataset is extremely small, consisting of only two physical samples.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Recovered by HMAS Kimbla.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:39:07.779125; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Tasman Sea, approximately 250 nautical miles southeast of Sydney (155° 35E, 36° 15S).