Rocksday

Phosphorite

Sedimentary rock rich in phosphate minerals, often with fossil fragments.

Phosphorite specimen
Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify phosphorite

  • Dark pellets, nodules or bone fragments.
  • Heavier than limestone.
  • Often contains shark teeth and bone.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Morocco
  • Bone Valley, Florida
  • Idaho

Uses

Phosphate fertilizer.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Morocco holds most of the world's known phosphate rock reserves.

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