Topic summary
Rock phosphate
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Phosphorite.
Production
Phosphate ore is mined and beneficiated into rock phosphate. Beneficiation of phosphate ore is a process which includes washing, flotation and calcining. Froth flotation is used to concentrate the mined ore to rock phosphate. The mined ore is crushed and washed, creating a slurry. This ore slurry is then treated with fatty acids to cause calcium phosphate to become hydrophobic.