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Unnamed phosphate mine, Little Curaçao, Curaçaoi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Unnamed phosphate mine | Mine |
| Little Curaçao | Island |
| Curaçao | Constituent Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
11° North , 68° West (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~2km
Type:
Mined for phosphate by the Dutch from 1871 to 1888. The phosphate was taken to Europe.
"British civil engineer John Godden was forced to moor at the island by a storm during a trip to Bonaire and discovered that the bird droppings had resulted in rich guano or phosphate deposits (2 to 3 meters thick) on the island (Little Curacao). Phosphate was in high demand at the time as an additive to fertilisers and cattle feed. He managed to obtain a concession for phosphate mining a few weeks later and he and his successors dug up about 90.3 (thousand?) tons of phosphate up to 1888 and became very rich from this 'Curaçao guano' exported to England with an estimated market value of about 7 million guilders (more than 3.1 million euros). Later concessions up to 1913 yielded only low-quality phosphate. The last remains of phosphates were then dug up by the company Pinedo & Co. and trader Carl (Karel) Frederik Muskus. As a result, much of the vegetation on the island disappeared. Ruins of the buildings where the workers who dug the phosphate lived can still be found on the west coast of the island. The profits that were made with this led to a real phosphate rush in the Antilles, which also led to diggings in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (Tafel Mountain) and ensured that Curaçao did not need subsidies from the Netherlands for the first time in a long time for the 12 years between 1882 and 1894." (Translated from the Dutch Wikipedia page, see link below.)
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
1 valid mineral.
Detailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Foggite Formula: CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O References: Soenke Stolze, systematic-minerals, specimenIdentification: Dealer/Collection Label |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Foggite | 8.DL.05 | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Foggite | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Foggite | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Foggite | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Foggite | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Foggite | CaAl(PO4)(OH)2 · H2O |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
Caribbean PlateTectonic Plate
Kingdom of the NetherlandsKingdom
Netherlands AntillesConstituent Country
North America
- Central AmericaSubregion
The Caribbean
- Aves RidgeVolcanic Arc
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