Valorization potentials of phosphate tailings at Minjingu mines in northern part of Tanzania
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/Abstract
Sedimentary and igneous rocks are the two primary kinds of phosphate rocks in the globe used to make phosphate fertilizers, and it is mined and beneficiated to fertilizers. During the beneficiation of phosphate rocks, phosphate fertilizers are squandered into Phosphate Tailings (PTs). This study examined the phosphate concentrations in the phosphate tailing dumps at Minjingu Mines in Tanzania. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was used to quantify the concentrations of chemical composition of PTs. It was found that, the phosphate content in PTs varied from 12.91% of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) at tailings dump 2 to 19.61% of P2O5 at tailings dump 1. In this respect, it is worth noting that the naturally occurring phosphate concentration in rocks ranges between 3% and 35%, and PTs in various places have been improved to commercial fertilizers with phosphate concentrations as low as 6.46 - 12.65% of P2O5. This investigation revealed that, phosphate concentrations at Minjingu PTs contain high amount of P2O5 which can be recovered for commercial applications. The recovery method of P2O5 from tailings are discussed, and it is recommended that a beneficiation could be done to minimize the loss of phosphate into the tailings. Further research could be conducted to identify the optimal beneficiation methodology for the recovery of phosphate from tailings.Downloads
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Copyright (c) 2024 Daniel Dionis Mdachi, Anita M Rugaika, Revocatus L Machunda
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