Properties
Manganese is a grey-white, hard and very brittle heavy metal, resembling iron in certain respects. Elemental manganese is relatively labile. In nature, it mainly occurs as pyrolusite (manganese dioxide). The element is biologically important, being a component of various enzymes.
Applications
Manganese is of great importance to the metal industry because of its high affinity for sulfur and oxygen and its material-improving properties. It is mainly processed as an alloying element in the production of iron, steel and special materials.