Manganese Nodules Dirt Dust Fragments 2 lb - 908 grams
Brand : Sciencemall-USA
- SKU:
- JPT-07155
- Availability:
- Usually ships in 24 hours.
- Weight:
- 3.00 LBS
- Minimum Purchase:
- 1 unit
- Maximum Purchase:
- 1 unit
- Shipping:
- Calculated at Checkout
Polymetallic Manganese Nodules [CCFZ] - 2 lb Jar
This is a sealed PET 1 jar containing a full two pounds plus (908 grams, 32 ounces) of polymetallic manganese nodule material recovered from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the equatorial North Pacific. The contents are a working mix of whole and broken nodule fragments, coarse granular material, and the fine dark dust and sediment that accompany nodule recovery. The material is matte to sub-metallic black and brown-black, dense in the hand, and earthy in texture, exactly as deep-sea polymetallic material appears when it has not been washed and sorted for display.
Bulk Size for Researcher or Dealer Lot
Bulk quantities of authentic Clarion-Clipperton Zone nodule material are rarely offered at this scale. A two-pound jar is sufficient for laboratory work, destructive testing, sectioning and polishing, classroom distribution, or division into smaller collector and teaching lots. Because the jar is sold as a unit of bulk material rather than as a single curated nodule, it is one of the few practical ways for a researcher, educator, or dealer to obtain deep-ocean polymetallic nodule material in quantity.
Why This Material Matters
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is the most intensively studied polymetallic nodule province on Earth, a vast abyssal plain between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones that has been the focus of deep-ocean resource science since the 1970s. Nodules there rest directly on soft abyssal sediment, largely unburied, and are typically reported from water depths in the several-thousand-meter range; the material offered here is documented as recovered from depths exceeding 3,000 meters.
What makes nodules scientifically remarkable is their pace of formation. Polymetallic manganese and iron oxide accretes around a nucleus at rates commonly cited in the range of a few millimeters per million years, among the slowest known growth rates for any natural solid on the planet. A nodule of ordinary size, therefore, represents an approximate growth history on the order of five to twenty million years of continuous, uninterrupted deep-ocean chemistry. Every concentric layer is a record of bottom-water conditions at the moment it formed.
Elemental Composition
Batch XRF analysis of this material identified the following elements: manganese, iron, silicon, aluminum, nickel, copper, cobalt, oxygen, hydrogen, barium, potassium, and titanium. Manganese and iron oxides constitute the bulk of the nodules' structure, while nickel, copper, and cobalt are trace metals that have driven decades of scientific and commercial interest in the province. A professional XRF elemental assay laboratory printout accompanies this order and is consistent with other manganese nodule material from this fracture zone.
Collector, Laboratory, and Classroom Appeal
Two pounds of mixed nodule material is a genuinely versatile resource for teaching and research. The fragments show interior structures that whole nodules conceal, making them useful for demonstrating some occasional concentric accretionary banding, relationships among nuclei, and the difference between hydrogenetic and diagenetic textures. The fines and sediment can be examined under low magnification for micronodules and associated abyssal material. For an instructor, a single jar can supply an entire course section with hand samples.
Product Information
| Object Type | Polymetallic manganese nodule material - mixed fragments, granular material, dust, and sediment |
| Locality | Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ / CCFZ), abyssal North Pacific Ocean floor |
| Reported Depth | Recovered from reported depths exceeding 3,000 meters |
| Approximate Growth History | Approximately 5 to 20 million years, based on commonly cited nodule accretion rates of a few millimeters per million years |
| Weight | 2 lb plus - 908 grams (32 ounces) of nodule material |
| Container | Sturdy PET 1 jar with tight-fitting lid, 7 in H x 3.5 in diameter |
| Specimen Description | Matte to sub-metallic black and brown-black polymetallic nodule material; whole and broken nodule fragments with residual dust, dirt, and fine sediment; unwashed and unsorted, as recovered |
| Elemental Composition | Manganese, iron, silicon, aluminum, nickel, copper, cobalt, oxygen, hydrogen, barium, potassium, titanium (batch XRF) |
| Scientific Significance | Bulk deep-ocean polymetallic nodule material from the most studied nodule province on Earth, suitable for sectioning, assay, and destructive analysis |
| Provenance | Professionally and legally collected deep-ocean research material; long-held scientific collection stock |
| What Is Included | Sealed jar of nodule material, Sciencemall-USA Certificate of Authenticity, professional XRF elemental assay laboratory printout, and label information. Sizing cube not included |
| Use and Display | Laboratory research, university and classroom instruction, private scientific collection, museum-style display, or division into smaller study and collector lots |
| Cautions and Safety | Do not breathe the dust. Wash hands after handling. Wash work surfaces. Store with the jar closed and labeled. Sold as a natural mineral specimen for collector and educational use; a Materials Handling Sheet is included. This is not a Safety Data Sheet and does not constitute a hazard classification under 29 CFR 1910.1200 |
| Authentication and Compliance | Ships with a Sciencemall-USA Certificate of Authenticity and specimen documentation. HS code 970529; U.S. 10-digit code 9705290000. Declared purpose: scientific and mineralogical study. Natural mineralogical specimen for scientific study; not intended for metal extraction or industrial use |
| Shipping | Calculated at checkout |
| U.S. Shipping | Free Priority Shipping within the USA |
| SKU | JPT-128885 |
Images professionally photographed under controlled studio lighting using Zeiss optics and a pro-grade Canon camera.
Rarity and Significance
| Scientific Significance | ★★★★★ - Deep-ocean polymetallic nodule material from the most intensively studied nodule province on Earth |
| Market Availability | ★★★☆☆ - Nodule material reaches the collector market periodically, but bulk quantities at this weight are uncommon |
| Locality Specificity | ★★★★★ - Attributed to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a defined and scientifically meaningful abyssal province, with batch XRF consistent with material from this fracture zone |
| Display Appeal | ★★★★☆ - Substantial two-pound jar with striking dark deep-sea material; strong classroom and exhibit presence |
The significance of this offering lies in quantity as much as in origin. Single nodules are obtainable; two pounds of authentic Clarion-Clipperton Zone material accompanied by a laboratory assay printout is a different proposition entirely, and it opens uses that a single display specimen cannot support.
Questions Commonly Asked
What exactly is in this jar?
A 908-gram mixed lot of polymetallic manganese nodule material: whole and broken nodule fragments, coarse granular pieces, and the residual dust, dirt, and unsorted fine sediment that accompanies recovered nodule material. It is sold as bulk material, not as a single curated display nodule.
Why is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone important?
It is the best-characterized polymetallic nodule province on the planet, a broad abyssal plain of the equatorial North Pacific bounded by the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones. It has been the focus of deep-ocean resource science, ecological survey work, and international seabed policy for more than fifty years, which makes material from the province directly relevant to current scientific and public debate.
How do manganese nodules form?
Iron and manganese oxides precipitate from seawater and from pore fluids in the underlying sediment and accrete in concentric layers around a nucleus, which may be a rock fragment, a shark tooth, or an older nodule fragment. Reported accretion rates are commonly a few millimeters per million years, among the slowest growth rates recorded for any natural solid, which is why a nodule of modest size can represent millions of years of continuous deposition.
What analysis comes with this material?
The order includes a professional XRF elemental assay printout from Science Mall for the batch, consistent with other manganese nodule material from this fracture zone. The assay identified manganese, iron, silicon, aluminum, nickel, copper, cobalt, oxygen, hydrogen, barium, potassium, and titanium. A Certificate of Authenticity and label information are also included.
Is this suitable for classroom or laboratory use?
Yes. The quantity supports hands-on distribution to an entire class, and because the material includes fragments rather than only intact nodules, it is well suited to sectioning, polishing, low-magnification examination, and destructive analytical work that would be inadvisable on a single display specimen.
Can this be divided into smaller lots?
It can. Two pounds of mixed material divides readily into teaching sets, study lots, or smaller collector portions, which is one of the principal reasons researchers, instructors, and dealers seek bulk nodule material rather than individual specimens.
Add this 2 lb jar of Clarion-Clipperton Zone polymetallic manganese nodule material to a research program, university teaching collection, private scientific collection, or museum-style geological exhibit. This is the last container of this size and weight offered in this material. ONLY 1 AVAILABLE.
Two pounds of authentic abyssal Pacific polymetallic nodule material, accreted at rates measured in millimeters per million years on a seafloor plain that has never been directly seen by human eyes, without the aid of dredging. Bulk Clarion-Clipperton Zone nodule material at this scale, documented by XRF and a Certificate of Authenticity, is among the most difficult deep-ocean materials to obtain in this quantity.
