Elemental characterization of Hazm El-Jalamid phosphorite by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) have been used to achieve accurate knowledge about the elemental analysis of phosphate ore deposits collected from Hazm El-Jalamid Northeast of Saudi Arabia. The samples were prepared for irradiation by thermal neutrons using a thermal neutron flux of 7×1012 n cm−2 s−1 at ACT Lab Canada. The concentrations of 19 elements were determined. These included 12 major, minor and trace elements (Au, As, Ba, Br, Cr, Mo, Sb, Sc, Sr, Th, U and Zn) and 7 rare earth elements (REEs) (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Yb and Lu). Major elements (Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cr, Ti, Mn, P, Sr and Ba) were determined using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The comparison of the concentration of U and the REEs in the Hazm El-Jalamid phosphate samples with those of the Umm Wu'al phosphate from Saudi Arabia and El-Sibayia and El Hamrawein phosphate from Egypt shows that the contents of U and REEs are clearly higher in the Umm Wu'al, El-Sibayia and El Hamrawein phosphates than in the Hazm El-Jalamid phosphate samples. The results of major, trace elements, uranium and rare earth elements (REE) from El Jalamid phosphate have been compared with the global values of these elements. The concentrations for most of the elements studied are lower than the concentrations reported in the literature. The acquired data will serve as a reference for the follow-up studies to assess the agronomic effectiveness of the Hazm El-Jalamid phosphate rocks.