Manganese carbonate is a compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 with the chemical formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 Mn

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

C

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

O

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

₃. Manganese carbonate occurs naturally as the mineral

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...

 rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral with chemical composition MnCO3. In its pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but impure specimens can be shades of pink to pale brown. The streak is white. Its Mohs hardness varies between 3.5 and 4. Its specific gravity is 3.5 to 3.7. It...

. Approximately 20,000 metric tonnes were produced in 2005.

Production and uses

Treatment of aqueous solutions of manganese(II) salts with alkali metal carbonates leads to precipitation of this faintly pink solid. The carbonate is insoluble in water but, like most carbonates, hydrolyses upon treatment with acids to give water-soluble salts.

Manganese carbonate decomposes with release of carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 at 200 °C to give manganese(II) oxide

Manganese(II) oxide

Manganese oxide is the inorganic compound with formula MnO. MnO is a basic oxide that is insoluble in water but dissolves in acids, forming manganese salts.-Preparation and occurrence:...

:

MnCO₃ → MnO + CO₂

This method is sometimes employed in the production of manganese dioxide for dry-cell batteries and for ferrite

Ferrite (magnet)

Ferrites are chemical compounds consisting of ceramic materials with iron oxide as their principal component. Many of them are magnetic materials and they are used to make permanent magnets, ferrite cores for transformers, and in various other applications.Many ferrites are spinels with the...

s.

Manganese carbonate is widely used as an additive to plant fertilizers to cure manganese deficient crops. It is also used in health foods, in ceramics as a glaze

Ceramic glaze

Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...

 colorant

Ceramic colorants

'Ceramic colorants' are added to a glaze or a clay to create color. Carbonates and oxides of certain metals, characterize most colorants including the commonly used cobalt carbonate, cobalt oxide, chrome oxide, red iron oxide, and copper carbonate...

 and flux, and in concrete stains

Decorative concrete

Decorative concrete is the use of concrete as not simply a utilitarian medium for construction but as an aesthetic enhancement to a structure, while still serving its function as an integral part of the building itself such as floors, walls, driveways and patios.The transformation of concrete into...

.

Toxicity

Manganese is essential for aerobic life and its compounds are not highly toxic. Manganese poisoning, also known as manganism

Manganism

Manganism or manganese poisoning is a toxic condition resulting from chronic exposure to manganese and first identified in 1837 by James Couper.- Presentation :...

, may be caused by long-term exposure to manganese dust or fumes.