Mining phosphate rock
Serious kit in play as a massive truck is loaded with phosphate rock ore at the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) mine at Khourigba in Morocco. This is the world's largest phosphate rock mine. (Central Florida is another major centre for phosphate rock mining.) The ore will then be moved to a processing plant for washing and the removal of impurities to create high-grade phosphate rock. This may be applied directly on to the soil as a fertilizer, but most will be further processed by reacting the rock with sulphuric acid to form phosphoric acid (an ingredient in fizzy drinks, among other uses). Most phos acid will in turn be further processed to create a range of phosphorus-containing fertilizers and animal feed.
Mining phosphate rock
Serious kit in play as a massive truck is loaded with phosphate rock ore at the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) mine at Khourigba in Morocco. This is the world's largest phosphate rock mine. (Central Florida is another major centre for phosphate rock mining.) The ore will then be moved to a processing plant for washing and the removal of impurities to create high-grade phosphate rock. This may be applied directly on to the soil as a fertilizer, but most will be further processed by reacting the rock with sulphuric acid to form phosphoric acid (an ingredient in fizzy drinks, among other uses). Most phos acid will in turn be further processed to create a range of phosphorus-containing fertilizers and animal feed.