Phosphate rock

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Phosphate rock

Phosphate rock or phosphorite
Phosphorite

A phosphorite or phosphate rock is a non-detrital sedimentary rock which contains high amounts of phosphate bearing minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite is at least 20% which is a large enrichment over the typical sedimentary rock content of less than 0.2%....
is a general description applied to several kinds of rock

Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
which contain significant concentrations of phosphate minerals

Phosphate minerals

Phosphate minerals are those minerals that contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate anion along with the freely substituting arsenate and vanadate ....
, which are minerals that contain the phosphate

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
ion

Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
in their chemical structure.

Many kinds of rock contain mineral components containing phosphate

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
or other phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. The name comes from the and . A Valency nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate minerals....
compound

Compound

Compound may refer to:* Chemical compounds, combinations of two or more elements* Compound , a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall...
s in small amounts. However, rocks which contain phosphate in quantity and concentration which are economic to mine

Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
as ore

Ore

An ore is a type of Rock that contains minerals such as gemstones and metals that can be extracted through mining and refined for use. Samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering visible when sectioned or polished or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or crystalline formations of metals suc...
for their phosphate content are not particularly common.

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Rock (geology)

Phosphate minerals

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
ion

Ion

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a Salt of phosphoric acid. Inorganic phosphates are mining to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry....
or other phosphorus

Phosphorus

Compound

Mining

Ore

Guano

Guano is the excrement of seabirds, bats, and Harbor Seal.Guano manure is an effective fertilizer and gunpowder ingredient due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor....
, formed from bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
droppings, and rocks containing concentrations of the calcium phosphate mineral, apatite

Apatite

Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of Hydroxyl−, Fluorine−, or Chlorine− ions, respectively, in the crystal....
.

The United States is the world's leading producer and consumer of phosphate rock, which is used to manufacture phosphate fertilizer

Fertilizer

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
are the world's largest miners of phosphate rock, each producing about a quarter of the total world production. Other countries with significant production include Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
, Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
and Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast....
. Historically, large amounts of phosphates were obtained from guano

Guano

Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is a Territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, Western Australia, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, but these sources are now largely depleted.

Phosphate rock is mined, beneficiated, and either solubilized to produce wet-process phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula Hydrogen3PhosphorusOxygen4....
, or smelted to produce elemental phosphoric acid or smelted to produce elemental phosphorus

Phosphorus

Superphosphate

Superphosphate is a fertilizer produced by the action of concentrated sulfuric acid on powdered phosphate rock....
or with anhydrous ammonia to produce the ammonium phosphate

Ammonium phosphate

Ammonium phosphate - Molar Mass = 149.12g/mol. The normal ammonium phosphate, 3PO4, is obtained as a crystalline powder, on mixing concentrated solutions of ammonia and phosphoric acid, or on the addition of excess of ammonia to the acid phosphate 2HPO4....
fertilizers. Elemental phosphorus is the base for furnace-grade phosphoric acid, phosphorus pentasulfide, phosphorus pentoxide

Phosphorus pentoxide

Phosphorus pentoxide is a chemical compound with formula Phosphorus2Oxygen5. This white crystalline solid is the anhydride of phosphoric acid....
, and phosphorus trichloride

Phosphorus trichloride

Phosphorus trichloride is the most important of the three phosphorus chlorides. It is an important Chemical industry, being used for the manufacture of organophosphorus compounds for a wide variety of applications....
. Approximately 90% of phosphate rock production is used for fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
and animal feed supplements and the balance for industrial chemicals.

For general use in the fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizers are chemical compounds given to plants to promote growth; they are usually applied either through the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar feeding, for uptake through leaves....
industry, phosphate rock or its concentrates preferably have levels of 30% phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅), reasonable amounts of calcium carbonate (5%), and <4% combined iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
and aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
oxides. Worldwide, the resources of high-grade ore are declining, and the beneficiation of lower grade ores by washing, flotation and calcining is becoming more widespread.