Florida’s phosphate mineral rock, an economic geological resource
When you go to Ace Hardware or Home Depot or Lowes or to any other garden supply center to purchase garden fertilizer the phosphorous inside the bag probably originated in Florida near
Bartow (which is near Lakeland); the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research is
an independent research group that deals with Florida phosphate mineral http://www.fipr.state.fl.us/. (Links to an external site.)
WE WRITE PAPERS FOR STUDENTS
Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your project.
Write My Essay For MeTypically when one buys 6-6-6 for garden each number on the bag represents the percent, by weight, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, respectively. Thus a 40 lb bag of 6-6-6 contains 0.06×40 lbs = 2.4 lbs of phosphorous Discuss the following:
1. What is the mineral form of the Florida phosphate rock and what is the percentage of phosphorous in the mined mineral?
2. What is the origin of the phosphate rock; for example is it biological in origin, or does it come from mineralological processes?
3. How is the Florida phosphate rock mined?
4. What are some of the waste products from the mining and processing processes and how is the waste from these processes managed or disposed of.
5. What is approximate annual revenue generated from Florida phosphate rock.
6. What steps are being taken to sustain Florida’s phosphate mineral resource?.
MODEL ANSWER
The mineral form of Florida Phosphate and the Percentage of Phosphorus in the Mineral
As a mineral resource, phosphate rock can be defined as an unprocessed ore. The chemical form of Florida Phosphate rock is P2O5. This implies that the relative atomic mass of Phosphorus is 62 and that of Oxygen is 80. The percentage abundance of Phosphorus is thus (62/142) * 100% = 44%
The Origin of the Phosphate Rock
The phosphate rock is believed to have come in | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | he solidification of dissolved phosphorus in a process called | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | on the sea bed, the material formed sediments that are mined | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | believed that excrement, as well as sea life, resulted in the formation of the deposits.
How the Florida Phosphate is mined
Before the phosphate rock is mined, several activities are | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | undertaking wildlife surveys as well as relocating endangered species as well as clearing | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | are also taken to protect areas that will | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | draglines are used to undertake mining. The dragline’s bucket holds close to 70 cubic yards of the debri. It is used to remove between 15 and 30 feet of crust which is referred to overburden and puts then in | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | digs out the layer that bears the ore and holds phosphate rocks of equal parts, sand, | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | is thereafter placed in a pit and subjected to pressure guns of high pressure to form a slurry which is to be taken to the beneficiation | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | place that the phosphate rock is completely isolated from clay and sand.
Waste Products and how they are managed or disposed
The greatest waste products from the mining process are radioactive waste leakages and | PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AT writtask.com | are stored in mountainous stacks which allow other economic activities to continue (Florida department of environmental protection).
Approximate annual Revenue Generated from Florida Phosphate rock Close to 90% of Florida’s phosphate…