9.5.1: Overview of the Phosphate Industry
9.5.1: Overview of the Phosphate IndustryPhosphate is a key component in agriculture (food production)
- Granular monoammonium and diammonium phosphate pellets for fertilizer
- Animal feed supplements
- Elemental phosphorus for food-additive applications.
A limited amount of elemental phosphorus is used in other industrial applications.
In 2015, Phosphate rock was mined by 5 companies at 11 mines:
- in 4 states
- 80% in Florida and North Carolina & 20% in Idaho and Utah
- to produce 27 million tons of marketable product with a value of $2.4 billion fob mine
World Mine Production and Reserves (USGS Minerals Commodity Survey)
| Country | Mine Production, 2013 | Mine Production, 2014 | Reserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 31,200 | 27,100 | 1,100,000 |
| Algeria | 1500 | 1500 | 2,200,000 |
| Australia | 2600 | 2600 | 1,030,000 |
| Brazil | 6000 | 6750 | 270,000 |
| Canada | 400 | --- | 76,000 |
| China | 108,000 | 100,000 | 3,700,000 |
| Egypt | 6500 | 6000 | 715,000 |
| India | 1270 | 2100 | 35,000 |
| Iraq | 250 | 250 | 430,000 |
| Israel | 3500 | 3600 | 130,000 |
| Jordan | 5400 | 6000 | 1,300,000 |
| Kazakhstan | 1600 | 1600 | 260,000 |
| Mexico | 1760 | 1700 | 30,000 |
| Morocco and Western Sahara | 26,400 | 30,000 | 50,000,000 |
| Peru | 2580 | 2600 | 820,000 |
| Russia | 10,000 | 10,000 | 1,300,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3000 | 3000 | 211,000 |
| Senegal | 800 | 700 | 50,000 |
| South Africa | 2300 | 2200 | 1,500,000 |
| Syria | 500 | 1000 | 1,800,000 |
| Togo | 1,1110 | 1200 | 30,000 |
| Tunisia | 3500 | 5000 | 100,000 |
| Vietnam | 2370 | 2400 | 30,000 |
| Other Countries | 2580 | 2600 | 300,000 |
| World Total (rounded) | 225,000 | 220,000 | 67,000,000 |
There are three sources of Phosphate Rock
- Sedimentary deposits of marine origin
- Africa, China, Middle East, and United States
- Igneous and metamorphic deposits
- Brazil, Canada, Finland, Russia, and South Africa
- Biogenic deposits from bird guano
High-quality sedimentary phosphate deposits are mined in the U.S.
The mined phosphate rock is beneficiated by a process in which the phosphate rock is reacted with sulfuric acid to produce an intermediate feedstock of phosphoric acid.
Gangue minerals associated with the deposit impact the cost of processing the ore
Clays and silica are the only significant gangue minerals in these high-quality deposits Carbonates are present in significant amounts in lower-quality deposits
The gangue minerals can require larger quantities of reactants (sulfuric acid), which significantly increases production costs, and can increase time required for downstream processing, e.g., filtration; and they can interfere with the ore recovery and concentration in downstream operations, e.g., float processes.
Carbonates are more problematic. Dolomite, for example, shares mineralogical similarities with phosphate, and this makes it more challenging and expensive to remove it.
- Major gangue minerals of primary interest in U.S. operations:
- dolomite, calcite, silica, and clays
- Certain other gangue components may need to be removed during or after the production of the phosphoric acid:
- cadmium, radium, uranium
- Clay slimes are removed in log washers or hydrocyclones.
- Silica is removed using the well-established Crago double float process.