Chiatura manganese deposit

The Chiatura manganese deposit (Georgian: ჭიათურის მანგანუმის საბადო, romanized: ch’iaturis manganumis sabado; Russian: Чиатурское марганцевое месторождение, romanized: Chiaturskoye margantsevoye mestorozhdeniye) is located near the Dzirula Massif, located in central-western Georgia in the Imereti region west of the national capital Tbilisi. It is divided into parts by the Qvirila River and its tributaries. The center of the deposit development is the town of Chiatura.

Chiatura represents the largest manganese reserve in Georgia and one of the largest in the world, having estimated reserves of 239 million tonnes of manganese ore grading around 26% manganese metal. It consists mainly of sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic and Paleogene-Neogene age, which have a subhorizontal occurrence at an angle of 1-6° with a dip to the northeast. Manganese ores are located in ore layers of 30-35 cm in the amount of 3-18 pieces and alternate with opoka (a type of carbonate-siliceous sedimentary rock). Carbonate and oxidized layers are located in the upper part, and oxide ones in the lower part; in total, oxide ores – 26.5%, carbonate ores – 45.1%, oxidized – 15% and mixed – 14.4%.