Environmental Aspects of Phosphate and Potash Mining United ...

Overview of Phosphate Rock and Potash Mining and Beneficiation
2. Overview of Phosphate Rock and Potash Mining and
Beneficiation
2.1 Phosphate Rock and Potash
Although phosphate rock and potash are used as raw
materials for a wide range of applications, the most
important use by far is the manufacture of mineral
fertilizers.
The primary source of these minerals is geological ore
deposits formed through past sedimentary or igneous
activities. In the case of potash, concentrated brines
are also a significant source.
This chapter provides a brief overview of the major
activities involved in the mining, handling and beneficiation
of phosphate rock and potash ore.
downstream concentrated fertilizer products. The
economies of scale of the complex in turn influence
the scale of the mining operation.
The land area affected by the surface operations may
vary widely, depend on the orebody geometry and
thickness and the ore extraction rate. At similar
extraction rates, mining of flat-lying thin orebodies as
found in Florida (USA) will affect a far wider area of
land than the mining of thicker, or steeply dipping
orebodies as found in Brazil and Idaho (USA). The
depth of excavations may range from a few metres to
more than 100 metres.
2.2 Phosphate Rock Mining and
Beneficiation
6
Phosphate Rock Mining
At present, most phosphate rock is mined using largescale
surface methods. In the past, underground
mining methods played a greater role, but their contribution
to world production has declined. Major
mining and beneficiation techniques and processes
employed by the industry are listed in Figure 2.1.
Surface phosphate rock mining operations can vary
greatly in size. Extraction may range from several
thousand to more than 10 million tonnes of ore per
year. In many cases, operations supply feed to a nearby
fertilizer processing complex for the production of
Surface mining of phosphate rock with dragline, Florida -
Cargill Fertilizers Inc., USA
Currently, most phosphate rock production worldwide
is extracted using opencast dragline or open-pit
shovel/excavator mining methods. This method is
employed widely in parts of the United States of
America, Morocco and Russia.
Underground mining methods are currently used in
Tunisia, Morocco, Mexico and India. The area of the
land surface affected by these operations is generally
small and limited to the area immediately adjacent to
the access decline or shaft.
The following discussion will focus on surface methods
due to their significance.
Surface mining of phosphate rock, with bucketwheel - Office
Togolais des Phosphates (OTP), Togo