4.11.3.1 Availability and Consumption

In 1996 to 1998 China produced about 26 million tons of phosphate rock per year, most of which supplied domestic demand. There are two types of phosphate rock produced in China: one type is phosphate rock which is sold to the users directly after mined without dressing (or crushing and sieving). This type of phosphate rock is mainly used in the production of calcium superphosphate and calcium-magnesium phosphate. All the small mines and part of medium-sized mines produce this type of phosphate rock. The other type is phosphate rock mined by state-owned large mines. Besides the high-grade phosphate rock (with P₂O₅ >30%) mined, the remaining phosphate rock with P2O5 <30% is all dressed into high-quality phosphate concentrate. One part of the concentrate is processed to high-phosphate fertilizer in these mining enterprises and the other part is marketed to phosphate fertilizer plants throughout China to produce high-phosphate fertilizer and phosphate chemicals.

At the present the structure of China's phosphate consumption is as follows: phosphate fertilizer, 84 to 88%; yellow phosphorus, 7%; the rest are phosphorus products.

Phosphate fertilizers produced in China mainly include calcium superphosphate, calcium-magnesium phosphate, double superphosphate, ammonium phosphate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and other high-efficiency compound fertilizers. According to the data of the former Ministry of Chemical Industry, China's production of phosphate fertilizer in 1997 was 6.4076 million tons (or 7.15 million tons of P₂O₅% according to the Statistical Yearbook of China), an increase of 11.43% over the previous year, of which high-concentration compound phosphate fertilizer and compound-mixed fertilizer were 4.3726 million tons, an increase of 266,700 tons over the previous year. China's high-concentration compound fertilizer still falls far short of the agricultural demand. The productions of various varieties of phosphate fertilizer are presented in Table 4.11.3.

Table 4.11.3 Production of phosphate fertilizer in 1997 (P₂O₅£ºt)

With opening China's markets wider to the outside world, China's exports and imports of phosphate rock show a trend of increase,the exports of phosphate rock were 0.96 million tons in 1995, 1.32 million tons in 1996, 1.66 million tons in 1997 and 2.15 million tons in 1998. Limited phosphate rock was imported by China, but about 1.90 million tons of ammonium phosphate and phosphoric acid (converted into P₂O₅%) were imported each year. The imports of phosphate fertilizer by China in recent years are given in Table 4.11.4.

Table 4.11.1 China's imports phosphate fertilizer in recent years (¡Á10⁶ t: US dollars 1 million)

To meet an increasing demand for chemical fertilizer by agriculture, in 2000 China's production of chemical fertilizer will reach 30.74 million tons (pure; the same hereinafter), of which phosphate fertilizer will reach 7.36 million tons. In 2000 the amount of phosphate rock required for fertilizer production will be more than 24 million tons (of which high-quality phosphate rock will be 11 million tons) and that used for the production of yellow phosphorus and other phosphorus products will be 4 million tons, totaling more than 28 million tons.

It is estimated that by 2000 the production capacity of the mines that have operated, are being constructed and are to be used will reach 25.34 million tpa, of which 13.7 million tpa will be high-quality phosphate rock. If the production and technological upgrading work of medium-sized and small phosphate mines and enterprises are well organized, by 2000 China's production of phosphate rock will reach 30 million tons, which can fully satisfy the demand for phosphate rock by phosphate fertilizer production and its related industries.

4.11.3.2 Trends

To meet the demand of agricultural development and solve the present contradiction in production capacity between supply and demand of phosphate rock, China will further deve-lop the production of phosphate rock. Moreover, with China's entry into the WTO, the markets will be opened wider abroad and then China exports of phosphate rock will show a trend of increase. It is estimated that by 2000 China's exports of phosphate rock will attain about 3 million tons.

In order for China's phosphate rock mining to serve better the phosphate fertilizer industry and chemical industry for some longer time to come and achieve sustainable development, we will focus on the following objectives.

First, we will construct large-scale phosphate rock production bases into large-scale phosphorus chemical industrial bases to produce high-efficiency fertilizer and other phosphorus chemicals; thus the situation of transporting phosphate rock can be changed into that of transporting chemical products and economic returns of mine enterprises will be raised.

Second, we need to plan geological work in a rational way and continue to look for high-grade phosphate rocks in areas with good prospects. For example, efforts should be made to continue to look for open-cut weathering phosphate deposits around the Dianchi Lake and high-grade phosphate deposits in the surrounding areas of the Kaiyang and Wengfu mines, Guizhou, and in the Yichang and Baokang mineralization zones, Hubei. Meanwhile, we will speed up phosphate mineral exploration in the Dingdong ore zone, Yichang, Hubei, the Tongchanggeng mining area, Sichuan, and the Wangjiayuan mining area, Guizhou so as to furnish the reliable grounds for the construction of mines as rapidly as possible. We should continue to carry out reconnaissance operations and geological studies of apatite deposits hos-ted in basic-alkali rocks and look for Fanshan-type phosphate deposits.

Third, we must intensify researches on mining and dressing technologies and make full use of medium- and low-grade phosphate rock. To solve the problem of shortage of high-quality phosphate rock in China, it is necessary to intensify researches on mining and dressing technologies and make full use of medium- and low-grade phosphate rock besides intensifying geological work. In the future, in respect to mining and dressing of medium- and low-grade phosphate rock, we also need to intensify studies further, improve mining methods, simplify the technology of dressing, reduce costs and produce  high-quality phosphate concentrates that conform with the requirements for the production  of high-concentration compound phosphate fertilizer in relation to the cost and quality.

Fourth, we will strengthen the study of total uses of phosphate resources. China has abundant phosphate resources. Among all existing phosphate deposits found in China, over 1/3 contain more than ten useful elements such as uranium, iodine, iron, titanium and rare earth elements other than phosphorus. However, China's phosphate resources are dominated by refractory phosphate. Although some high-grade phosphorite and weathered, low-magnesium phosphorite can be used as raw material of phosphate fertilizer through washing and wet screening and yield good economic returns, generally the phosphorite shows the following shortcomings: medium and low grades, high contents of impurities, complex dressing procedures, high production costs and low economic returns. So, in order to raise the economic effectiveness of dressing of phosphate rock and reduce the pollution of tails to the environment, we must intensify the study of recovery of useful elements from phosphate rock and pay attention to total uses of phosphate resources.

Fifth, we should attach importance to environmental protection and implement the strategy of sustainable development. Phosphate mines as sites of mining and processing phosphate resources will inevitably discharge considerable amounts of wastes and tails, accompanied by extensive surface collapse and soil erosion, while outputting phosphorus products. Therefore, a correct understanding of the influence of the influence of the development and utilization of phosphate resources on the ecological environment and correct handling of the relations between development and protection, destruction and rehabilitation, pollution and control are of major significance for the promotion of the mine protection and the sustainable development of mining and utilization of phosphate resources.