Manganese nodules in the South Pacific are mainly in the following regions: an elongate belt approximately 1,000 km wide beneath the Antarctic Circumpolar Current; the Southwest Pacific basin; the Peru basin; the Chile basin; and the mountain region bounded by the Cook Islands and Tuamotu Islands. Metalliferous sediments are present dominantly along the crest of the East Pacific Rise where nodules are largely absent. The distribution patterns suggest that the formations of manganese nodules and metalliferous sediments are mutually exclusive. Modes of origin of the nodules are suggested and the possibility of economic exploitation of the nodules discussed.

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