Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute Science and
Engineering for Florida's Environment and Economy About this
photo: FIPR Institute's research in the areas of mining and
beneficiation (mineral processing) concentrates on issues
pertaining to the mining of phosphate rock and beneficiation of
phosphate ore (matrix), which separates the valuable phosphate
rock from waste clay and sand. According to FIPR Institute's
legislative mandate, the Institute's research should develop
technology to help Florida's phosphate industry become more
efficient and environmentally sound. Florida phosphate mining
dates back to the first hard rock deposits found near Hawthorne
in Alachua County in 1883. Early mining was with wheelbarrows,
picks and shovels. Next came mule-drawn scrapers. Steam shovels
and centrifugal pumps mounted on barges were also used to mine
the river-pebble phosphate deposits in the Peace River. But,
river-pebble mining ended in 1908. Draglines, the current mining
tool, came into use with the d