Phosphate mineralsMineralogyPhosphate minerals contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate (PO43?) anion along sometimes with arsenate (AsO43?) and vanadate (VO43?) substitutions, and chloride (Cl?), fluoride (F?), and hydroxide (OH?) anions that also fit into the crystal structure.
This is a large and diverse group, however, only a few species are relatively common. Phosphate rock has high concentration of phosphate minerals, most commonly of the apatite group. It is the major resource mined to produce phosphate fertilizers for the agriculture sector. Phosphate is also used in animal feed supplements, food preservatives, anti-corrosion agents, cosmetics, fungicides, ceramics, water treatment and metallurgy.
Phosphate minerals are often used for control of rust and prevention of corrosion on ferrous materials applied with electrochemical conversion coatings.
The largest use of minerals mined for their phosphate content is the production of fertilizer.