Forms of Iron in the Phosphorites of Abu-Tartur Area,Egypt

The Campanian\|Maastrichtian phosphatic deposits in Egypt, called the Duwi Formation, comprise a part of the extensive Middle East to North African phosphogenic province of Late Cretaceous to Paleogene age. The province holds the greatest accumulation of phosphorites in the geological history, possibly in excess of 70 billion metric tons. The phosphate resources in Egypt alone exceed 3 billion metric tons. Two\|third of these three billions occur only in the Abu\|Tartur area.\; Among the phosphorite deposits in Egypt, the phosphorites of the Abu\|Tartur area are characterized by high contents of iron ranging from 3% to 7% with an average of 5%. The detailed mineralogical and geochemical studies on the Abu\|Tartur phosphorites revealed that iron is found in the form of pyrite, ankerite, clay minerals, microinclusions, and iron oxide. Pyrite, which is the major fraction, occurs as filling cement and partial to complete replacement of phosphatic grains and confined to the fresh phosphorites while iron oxide occurs as cryptocrystalline aggregates of red to brown particles and is confined to the weathered outcrops. Exclusive relations between pyrite in the fresh phosphorite samples inside the Abu\|Tartur mine and iron oxide in the equivalent horizon of the weathered exposure indicated that iron oxide was formed by the oxidation of pyrite as a result of weathering. All of these forms harm the quality of ore, manufacturing processes, and the produced phosphoric acid and fertilizers.