In the Shadow of Phosphate: A Data Story on Life Near Industry in Florida
The burden of the phosphate industry tends to be greater in areas of Florida with lower income and a higher non-white population percentage. Among the three census tracts with the most gypstacks, the top one has higher poverty rates than the state average, but the second two do not. All are in Polk County in Central Florida.
Reclamation: Strategies and Stages
Reclamation: Strategies and Stages. Giant draglines dig 25 to 30 feet into the earth to get at the valuable ore, which is part of what the phosphate industry calls "matrix.". Matrix is a mixture of sand, clay and the phosphate mineral. This strip mining leaves 50 to 60 foot deep holes or pits interspersed with piles of cast earth, and the ...
Polk County Mined Lands Agricultural Research and …
By the year 2010, the State of Florida will have approximately 50,887 ha (125,000 acres) of phosphatic clay settling ponds, a large percentage of which are in Polk County. The study is funded by the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research and Polk County and is scheduled to run through mid 1995.
Dragline at Swift & Co. phosphate mine in Agricola.
Mines and mineral resources--Florida--Polk County--Agricola. Earthmoving machinery. Excavating machinery. Draglines. Phosphate mines and mining--Florida--Polk County--Agricola. Creator. Wright, David Morgan, 1887-1956. ... Dragline at Swift & Co. phosphate mine in Agricola. 1960 (circa).
Rural DeSoto County Is Targeted For Florida's Next Phosphate …
Phosphate, the lifeblood of Florida's fertilizer industry, is gradually being mined out in the region where Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee and Hardee counties meet. Now, phosphate miners are coveting land to the south, sparking fears in an area that is a regional source of drinking water.
Florida Phosphate at the Crossroads: A special report
Number 19 roars to life at the quiet crossroads of Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk and Hardee counties. The massive dragline is one of six earthmovers strip-mining for phosphate at Four Corners, the world's largest …
Polk County
About Mosaic in Polk Mosaic's phosphate and fertilizer products are responsible for roughly 46,000 Florida jobs, generating nearly $3.1 billion in personal income in our regional economy. In Polk County, we operate two active manufacturing facilities and a mine site and have many employees whose jobs require advanced industrial training and …
Major Mines & Projects | Florida phosphates Operation
Summary: The phosphate deposits of Florida are sedimentary in origin and part of a phosphate-bearing province that extends from southern Florida north along the Atlantic coast into southern ia. Sedimentary phosphate deposits consist of rock in which the phosphate mineral (s) occur in grains, pellets, nodules, and as phosphate replacement ...
Phosphate and How Florida Was Formed
It was in 1881 that Captain J. Francis LeBaron, of the Army Corps of Engineers, discovered Florida's treasure in black phosphate pebbles in the Peace River. A "hard rock" phosphate reserve in North Central Florida was discovered next. Thus began Florida's phosphate mining industry. Florida's phosphate mining today accounts for about ...
Rare Finds Florida's Phosphate Mines Source of Rare Earth …
Scientists say Florida phosphates are significant sources of rare earth elements, highly sought for everything from cell phones to EVs. Is a new era ahead for the state's …
Phosphate: Florida's Hidden Backbone
At the turn of the century, tens of thousands of Black workers moved to Polk County seeking jobs in the area's developing cypress mills, orange groves, turpentine camps …
Photo Gallery: Clear Spring Mine, Homeland, Central Florida Phosphate
Clear Spring Mine, Homeland, Central Florida Phosphate Mining District, Polk County, Florida, USA Field of View: 2.25 mm Bow-tie shaped spray of lustrous, transparent, yellowish wavellite crystals. Original Russ Kenaga label says "Wavellite, Location 7, Clr Spgs Mn, Bartow, FL" FOV: 2.25 mm Stacking: 357 frames at 4 µm Bruce Kelley …
Florida phosphate reservoir on the verge of collapse: An …
The phosphorite deposits of Florida contain between 0.005 and 0.02 percent uranium, which was extracted at multiple phosphate plants in central Florida between 1952 and 1998.
The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research was created …
FIPR is located in Polk County, in the heart of the central Florida phosphate district. The Institute seeks to serve as an information center on phosphate-related topics and welcomes information requests made in person, by mail, or by telephone. Research Staff Executive Director Richard F. McFarlin Research Directors G. Michael Lloyd Jr. …
Phosphate | Florida Department of Environmental …
Florida's Phosphate Mines. There are 27 phosphate mines in Florida, covering more than 450,000 acres. Nine phosphate mines are currently active. Nine mines are 100 percent reclaimed and released from …
Phosphate giant Mosaic agrees to pay nearly $2 billion …
Mosaic Fertilizer, the world's largest phosphate mining company, has agreed to pay nearly $2 billion to settle a federal lawsuit over hazardous waste and to clean up operations at six Florida ...
The price of plenty: Florida's hidden backbone | WLRN
Most are controlled by two main companies, Mosaic and Nutrien. They make Florida a key if somewhat hidden force in the global fertilizer market. Canada-based Nutrien (NYSE: NTR) reported net ...
The Clock is Ticking on Florida's Mountains of Hazardous Phosphate …
In 2014, Mosaic asked Polk County officials for permission to make one of its Mulberry gyp stacks twice as wide and nearly 400 feet tall—taller than the highest natural point in Florida, which ...
Noise and Ground Vibration Monitoring Related to Dragline …
The goal was to provide a reliable, statistically sound data base of dragline noise and ground vibration for future reference. To accomplish the goal, noise and ground vibration readings were taken from four distinct draglines mining in Polk and Hardee counties. The draglines monitored were the Bucyrus Erie #llSOB (at Noralyn), Bucyrus Erie ...
The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research was created …
The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research was created in 1978 by the Florida Legislature (Chapter 378.101, Florida Statutes) and empowered to conduct research supportive to the ... FIPR is located in Polk County, in the heart of the central Florida phosphate district. ... main processing streams in a typical Florida …
§ 10-107. Setbacks from residential property.
Polk County: Code of Ordinances: Chapter 10. MINING OPERATIONS: Article III. PHOSPHATE MINING: Division 3. ... approved both as to location and manner of use by the county, through the setback area, limited to the minimum space required and positioned as far from residentially used property as practical, for essential needs …
Mineral Development breaks ground on $70 …
Mineral Development, LLC (MDL), the only dedicated producer of secondary recovery phosphate rock in the world, has broken ground on its $70 million production facility in Polk County, Florida.
LCMAP Assessment: Phosphate Mining in Florida
Globally in 2017, 270 million metric tons of phosphate rock were mined and processed. There are large deposits found in China, the Middle East, North Africa and the United States. The U.S. processes approximately 10 percent of the world's phosphate rock in four states; Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, and Utah (USGS 2017).
Environmental groups will sue to increase scrutiny of phosphate …
The Princess Grace dragline digs into 45 feet of overburden at the Mosaic Co. Four Corners phosphate mine in Bradley, Fla. Feb. 23, 2023. The letter was mailed Tuesday to the Environmental ...
The price of plenty: Florida's hidden backbone | WUSF
Phosphate processing plants in the greater Tampa Bay region have caused some of Florida's worst environmental disasters. Accidents like the spill at the former …
Mining and Beneficiation (Mineral Processing)
The FIPR Institute's research in the areas of mining and beneficiation (mineral processing) concentrates on issues pertaining to the mining of phosphate rock and beneficiation of phosphate ore (matrix), which separates the valuable phosphate rock from waste clay and sand. According to the FIPR Institute's legislative mandate, the Institute ...
The price of plenty: Florida's hidden backbone | WUSF
It makes freshwater one of the most critical elements in phosphate mining. And water represented one of the earliest-seen environmental consequences of the industry. In the early 1950s, residents of Polk County watched Kissengen Spring in the Peace River watershed dry up over the course of a year and a half.
The Clock is Ticking on Florida's Mountains of …
Mosaic is currently mining phosphate rock on more than 70,000 of the 380,000 acres it owns in Manatee, Hillsborough, Polk and Hardee counties.
Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute
The FIPR Institute is focused on phosphate-related research, but since 2010 has also broadened its research program into non-phosphate topics such as energy and the mining and processing of minerals other than phosphate. The role and structure of the Institute are defined in Florida Statute 1004.346.
Does 'reclaiming' old phosphate mines live up to the promise?
The Teneroc public use area, home to 29 lakes, is built on old phosphate mining operations. (Alan Halaly/WUFT News) Twenty-seven phosphate mines in Florida stretch across more than 450,000 acres, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Of these, nine mines are considered reclaimed.