Phosphorite

Phosphorite is a sedimentary rock rich in phosphate minerals, especially apatite. It is mined chiefly as a source of phosphorus for fertilizer.

Phosphogenesis: The formation and accumulation of phosphate-rich sediment or rock. It describes the processes that turn dispersed phosphorus into phosphorite deposits.
Phosphate fertilizer: Fertilizer that supplies plants with phosphorus, commonly as soluble phosphate compounds. Phosphorite is the main mined raw material used to manufacture it.
Sedimentary phosphate deposits: Concentrations of phosphate minerals formed within sedimentary basins. Phosphorite is the rock expression of many such deposits.
Igneous apatite deposit: A phosphate-mineral concentration formed by crystallization or segregation in igneous rocks. It contrasts with phosphorite, whose phosphate accumulated in sedimentary settings.
Apatite: A group of phosphate minerals with the general formula Ca₅(PO₄)₃(F,Cl,OH). Apatite is the principal phosphate mineral in most phosphorite.
Phosphate rock: A commercial term for mined rock containing enough phosphate to be processed economically. Phosphorite is the principal sedimentary source of phosphate rock.
Phosphatic nodule: A rounded, phosphate-rich sedimentary concretion or grain aggregate. Nodules are common components of some phosphorite beds.
Phosphate shale: Fine-grained shale enriched in phosphate minerals, commonly deposited in marine basins. It may be phosphate-rich without having the composition or texture of typical phosphorite.
Upwelling: The rise of cold, nutrient-rich deep water toward the ocean surface. Upwelling can fuel productivity and phosphorus recycling where phosphorite forms.
Wet-process phosphoric acid: Phosphoric acid produced by reacting phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. This industrial route converts phosphorite into a major fertilizer intermediate.

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