| Queensland Minerals |
| A Summary of Major Mineral Resources, Mines and Projects, 2nd Edition |
| Host Rock/Cover Sequences |
| Structural Unit |
| Formation Name/Age |
| Deposit Model |
| Mineralisation Age |
| Phosphorite lithologies are mainly detrital in |
| character; consisting of sand-sized, peloidal and |
| bioclastic, carbonate fluorapatite (francolite) |
| framework grains within a siliceous or calcareous |
| matrix, to form phosphatic grainstone or packstone. |
| Comments |
| Phosphatic marine sediment occurs in the Middle Cambrian and Middle Ordovician rocks of the Georgina Basin. The Middle Cambrian |
| rocks host significant resources of phosphate including that of Phosphate Hill. |
| In summary, phosphate rock is mined and combined with sulphuric acid (supplied from Mt Isa) to produce phosphoric acid (gypsum as |
| byproduct). Ammonian (produced from natural gas) is added to phosphoric acid to form ammonium phosphate fertilisers. |
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