Geochemical, Mineralogical, and Sedimentological Investigation of Phosphorite and its Clay-Rich Mine Tailings from a Phosphate Mine, Togo, West Africa

Clay-rich mine tailings from phosphate mine operations in Togo West, Africa present major environmental and economic problems. Options for reclamation and restoration of the tailings are limited and are fundamentally restricted due to poorly executed waste management. The major control on the bulk physical properties of the tailings is the mineralogy of the materials. Clay samples from raw phosphate mined were obtained to investigate its sedimentological geochemical, and bulk properties Tailings were also analyzed for similar properties. The phosphatic deposits are Eocene in age, 1 to 10s of meters thick and consist mostly of moderately to poorly sorted phosphatized pellets, formanifera, and other bioclastic debris. Attapulgite occurs interstitially. Moisture contents of clays from the raw phosphate varies from 4.00 to 7.11 wt%. Francolite is the main mineral phase present in the samples analyzed. Geochemically, the rocks show significant enrichment in P2O5 and CaO. P2O5 concentrations vary from approximately 29 to 35.78 wt%. A strong correlation (r2 = 0.92) occurs between CaO and P2O5 abundances indicating that apatite is a major control on the phosphate. A number of heavy metal elements and trace elements occur. Cr, V, Ni, Cu, and Cd are interpreted to be in phosphate minerals, largely apatite. Mean oxide compositions (wt %) are 31.27% P2O5, 43.74% CaO, 9.50% SiO2, 4.30% Al2O3, 2.96% Fe2O3, 0.11 % K2O, 0.19% TiO2, 0.02% MnO, 0.02% MgO, 0.02 % Na2O, and 6.12 % LOI (loss of ignition). Our analysis shows that Cd, U, Th, and F are incorporated into the francolite. We conclude that the phosphorites in Togo formed under oxic, shallow-water conditions where microbial populations assimilated phosphorus primarily from seawater and mediated precipitation of calcium fluroapatite during early digenesis at the sediment-water interface. Analysis of the mine tailings show that the purification process leads to the enrichment of certain metals (Cr, Cu, Ni, V, Zn, Ba, Sr, Fe, and Al) in the tailings due to their association with the clay minerals, whereas Cd, Th, and U are enriched in the purified apatite-rich product. Leaching tests show that the solubility of metals generally increases when salinity increases or when pH decreases. Thus, the processing of phosphorites with sea water and the dumping of phosphorite tailings into the sea represent a serious potential risk for the marine ecosystem and for human health through the food chain.