The Occurrence of Robertsite in a Sedimentary Phosphate Ore from Thailand

Steven J. Van Kauwenbergh, Michelle Cooper-Fleck and Marilyn R. Williams
Fertilizer Technology Division, International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35662, USA

Abstract: During a mineralogical study of guano-derived sedimentary phosphate ore from the Lamphun area of northwest Thailand, robertsite [Ca6(H2O)6Mn3+9O6(PO4)9.3H2O] was identified and concentrated to a level suitable for X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis. Robertsite has previously been described only in association with altered phosphatic pegmatites. This new occurrence in a phosphate deposit indicates that it may be found in a broad spectrum of sedimentary rocks.

Keywords: robertsite • phosphate ore • Thailand

Mineralogical Magazine; September 1988 v. 52; no. 367; p. 505-508; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1988.052.367.09
© 1988, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)