A manganese nodule was recovered from station No. 18 of cruise Mn-74-01 of the R/V Moana Wave as part of the field work of the NSF-IDOE Inter-University Ferromanganese Research progam in 1974. The whole sample was first treated by 5M hydrochloric acid anf later digested with hydrochloric, perchloric and hydrofluoric acids. The soluble part was analysed by Atomic Absorption for nickel, cobalt and copper content.

From 1983 until 1989 NOAA-NCEI compiled the NOAA-MMS Marine Minerals Geochemical Database from journal articles, technical reports and unpublished sources from other institutions. At the time it was the most extended data compilation on ferromanganese deposits world wide. Initially published in a proprietary format incompatible with present day standards it was jointly decided by AWI and NOAA to transcribe this legacy data into PANGAEA. This transfer is augmented by a careful checking of the original sources when available and the encoding of ancillary information (sample description, method of analysis...) not present in the NOAA-MMS database.