It's Elemental

Proposed to be an element by Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1774, manganese was discovered by Johan Gottlieb Gahn, a Swedish chemist, by heating the mineral pyrolusite (MnO₂) in the presence of charcoal later that year. Today, most manganese is still obtained from pyrolusite, although it is usually burned in a furnace with powdered aluminum or is treated with sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) to form manganese sulfate (MnSO₄), which is then electrolyzed.

Nearly 90% of all of the manganese produced each year is used in the production of steel. Manganese is added to molten steel to remove oxygen and sulfur and is alloyed with steel to make it easier to form and work with and to increase steel's strength and resistance to impact. Railroad tracks, for example, are made with steel that contains as much as 1.2% manganese. Manganese is also used to give glass an amethyst color and is responsible for the color of amethyst gemstones.

Manganese dioxide (MnO₂), the most common compound of manganese, makes up about 0.14% of the Earth's crust. It is used in dry cell batteries to prevent the formation of hydrogen, to remove the green color in glass that is caused by the presence of iron contaminants, and as a drying agent in black paints.