Draglines, such as this one, could soon be moving into DeSoto county as companies such as IMC-Agrico begin mining. Draglines with mammoth buckets run constantly, stopping only for heavy fog or regular maintenance. Then the phosphate ore is shipped to the benefication plant. Here, three different chemicals, called regents, are used to float sand and clay away from phosphate. The finished phosphate is shipped by train to a chemical processing plant, which makes the mineral water-soluble.
Sand goes back into the earth for reclamation, and clay-filled water is pumped to a settling pond.
Overburden is plowed over the sand, the land is contoured, top soil is distributed and the area is replanted. All rights reserved.