noun
definition
A sedimentary rock rich in phosphate minerals such as apatite
Examples of phosphorite in a Sentence
Although similar teeth occur in the phosphorite beds of South Carolina, which may have been transported from elsewhere, no undoubted remains of Megatherium are known from North America.
The name seems to have been given originally to the Spanish phosphorite, probably because it phosphoresced when heated.
Phosphorite, when occurring in large deposits, is a mineral of much economic value for conversion into the superphosphate largely used as a fertilizing agent.
Many of the impure substances thus utilized are not strictly phosphorite, but pass under such names as " rock-phosphate," or, when nodular, as " coprolite " (q.v.), even if not of true coprolitic origin.
Then followed the discovery of " hard rockphosphate," a massive mineral, often having cavities lined with nearly pure phosphorite.
Algeria contains important deposits of phosphorite, especially near Tebessa and at Tocqueville in the province of Constantine.
Lignite occurs at many points around Coimbra, Leiria and Santarem; asphalt abounds near Alcobaca; phosphorite, asbestos and sulphur are common south of the Tagus.
Among the less important Spanish minerals are manganese (chiefly in Ciudad Real), antimony, gold, cobalt, sodic sulphate, sulphate of barium (barytes), phosphorite (found in Chceres), alum, sulphur, kaolin, lignite, asphalt, besides a variety of building and ornamental stones.