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Large walking Draglines , operating twenty-four hours a day in surface mines, excavate raw pebble phosphate mixed with clay and sand (known as Matrix ) using huge buckets which can hold more than forty cubic yards of earth. The matrix is then dropped into a pit where it is mixed with water to create a Slurry , which is pumped through miles of large steel pipes to washing plants. These plants sift and separate the phosphate from the sand, clay, and other materials, and mix in more water to create a small granular rock termed Wetrock . The wetrock, which is typically of little use in raw form, is then moved largely by Rail to processing plants where it is treated. The final products include Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) and Triple Superphosphate (TSP). Waste byproducts are stored in large Phosphogypsum stacks and settling ponds, whose sizes are often measured in hundreds of Acres . Phosphate processing produces significant amounts of Fluorine gas, which must be treated by filtering through special scrubbers utilizing Silica . Most of the final phosphate product (known within the industry as 'dryrock') are then transported by rail to facilities along Tampa Bay , where they are transloaded onto ships destined for countries such as China . Phosphate intended for domestic use is assembled into long trains of Covered Hopper cars for northbound movement. HISTORY In 1881 , J. Francis LeBaron, a captain in the US Army , discovered fossilized remains of prehistoric animals in the bed of the Peace River . Captain LeBaron related this information to an associate, Colonel T.S. Moorehead -- who in turn began to do prospecting in the lower Peace River area. Colonel Moorehead later acquired land along the Peace River near the village of Arcadia , establishing the ''Arcadia Phosphate Company'' in 1888 . By 1889 , no fewer than twelve companies were mining phosphate along the Peace River. Through attrition, the number of companies were reduced to four by 1894 . On December 31, 1894, the four surviving companies combined to form the ''Peace River Phosphate Mining Company''. Their activities attracted the attention of the ''American Agricultural Chemical Company'' (known as Agrico ) and in 1899 , began to acquire ''Peace River Phosphate Mining Company'' stock. In the early years, phosphate from the Peace River area was barged to Punta Gorda , or shipped by rail to Port Tampa . Other important ports were later established at Seddon Island , Boca Grande , and Rockport . Today, there are only two companies which mine phosphate rock in the region, Mosaic Inc. (formed from the merger of IMC-Agrico and Cargill Crop Nutrition) as well as CF Industries. Recent years have seen a slump in the market, and Mosaic is seeking to mine properties further south. RAIL SERVICE For many years, the Bone Valley area received service from two major railroads, the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line . More than a few industries saw the services of ''both'' railroad companies, such as the Ridgewood fertilizer plant at Bartow and the massive Pierce washer located near Mulberry . It was not until the 1967 Seaboard Coast Line merger that the bitter rivalry was put to rest. SCL itself was later absorbed into CSX , who have since pursued an aggressive strategy of abandoning trackage. Abandoned routes within the Bone Valley area include:
EXTERNAL LINKS CF Industries, Inc. Mosaic Co. |