Abstract
This study presents an assessment of alternate fertilizer potential of glauconite deposits in India with precise stratigraphy, dimension of the deposit, and its K2O contents for understanding their alternate potash fertilizer potential. Further, it provides simple beneficiation methods to separate glauconite from the rest of the sediments. Many of the glauconite deposits, particularly those of Precambrian age, are considerably thick and are laterally extensive. Although the content of K2O is low in the bulk rock, it is moderate to high in the glauconites. The glauconite content of the original deposits is low, mostly in the range of 10 to 20 wt%. Inexpensive and simple methods such as sieving and electromagnetic separation enhance the glauconite content up to 57 wt% in selected samples. This study is crucial for planning alternatives of conventional potash fertilizer, which are expected to be exhausted in the near future.
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Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) for infrastructure facilities. TRC is thankful to CSIR for providing funding for research. SB and PVSR are thankful to Ministry of Mines, Government of India, for the financial support through grant F. No. 14/77/2015-Met IV. The authors thankful to the DST IITB National Facility for EPMA, Department of Earth Sciences, IITB.
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Choudhury, T.R., Raju, P.V.S., Shaikh, T. et al. An Assessment of Alternate Fertilizer Potential of Glauconite Deposits in India using Simple Beneficiation Methods. J Geol Soc India 98, 181–184 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-022-1956-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-022-1956-7