Iridescent shelly phosphorite from Estonia
Avatar

Iridescent shelly phosphorite from Estonia

by Sophie Graul, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

The Ordovician phosphorites of Estonia are more than unusual deposits. They are composed of the remains of brachiopod lingulid shells, mineralised into apatite during diagenesis. Once exploited solely for phosphorus, they are now in the spotlight as a potential source of rare earths (REE) on a European scale.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2023.107311