#phosphates

An article published in the journal "Meteoritics & Planetary Science" reports the results of the preliminary analysis of the samples of material from asteroid Bennu brought back to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx space probe. A team of researchers conducted morphological and chemical analyzes of the samples, finding a lot of carbon and nitrogen together with organic compounds, all very important components for life forms of the Earth's type.

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(Henry Groskinsky. 1971)

Paleocarcharodon fossil shark tooth

By the end of November 2021, the government of Morocco announced that it had earned $6.45 billion from the export of phosphate from the kingdom and from the occupied territory of Western Sahara. If you add up the phosphate reserves in this entire region, it amounts to 72 percent of the entire phosphate reserves in the world (the second-highest percentage of these reserves is in China, which has around 6 percent). Phosphate, along with nitrogen, makes synthetic fertilizer, a key element in modern food production.

Doubly terminated, sharp, pseudo-octahedral veszelyite crystal on hemimoprhite from Palabanda quarry, Republic of the Congo. 7 mm tall. M. Mauthner photo. Source: spiriferminerals.com

Dr Sylvia Karpagam, 'The Karnataka anti-cow slaughter bill is against the poor', Round Table India

Predominantly rural, the economy relies on fish, phosphates, groundnuts, tourism, & services.