You should read this very and rarely (recent) good article about Manganese. It is long but it is worth it.

(By copy and paste, it is not showing the important pictures)

Clint

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Manganese - an unsung hero
A detailed overview of manganese, its uses, markets and major producers.
Author: Tom Vulcan
Posted: Wednesday , 29 Jul 2009
NEW YORK (HARD ASSETS INVESTOR) -

It's the world's fourth-most consumed metal by weight, and the twelfth-most abundant in the Earth's crust. All steels contain it. And the U.S. is 100% reliant on imports of it.
But who has ever heard of manganese?
What is Manganese?

More: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72102?oid=86832&sn=Detail