94 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



WORLD PRODUCTION OF PHOSPHATE ROCK. 



In the production of phosphate, the United States is easily the 

 leading country of the world, contributing from the well known 

 fields of Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Arkansas and the 

 new fields in the western United States approximately 3,000,000 

 tons of a total world production of between 6,000,000 and 7,000,000 

 tons. Florida alone, at the present time, contributes over 2,500,000 

 tons per annum. The statistics for 1911, the latest date of which 

 approximately complete returns are available, show the world pro- 

 duction of phosphate to be approximately 6,145,413 metric tons, 

 of which the United States produced 3,102,131 metric tons, or 

 slightly more than one-half.* 



Aside from the United States, the principal phosphate coun- 

 tries of the world are Northern Africa, including Tunis, Algeria 

 and Egypt; Continental Europe, including France, Belgium and 

 Russia, the latter at present producing but little rock; the South 

 Sea Islands, including Ocean, Naura, Anguar, Makatea and other 

 islands of lesser importance in the Pacific Ocean, and Christmas 

 Island in the Indian Ocean; the Dutch West Indies, including 

 Aruba, Curacao and Lesser Curacao Islands in the Caribbean Sea. 

 In addition a small amount of phosphate rock is produced in Can- 

 ada, Australia and South Africa, while from a number of other 

 localities, both on the continents and on the Islands of the Sea, 

 discoveries of phosphate rock are reported, some of which, without 

 doubt, will be found to be of commercial importance. 



^ NORTHERN AFRICA. 

 TUNIS. 



Tunis, a small province in northern Africa bordering the Med- 

 iterranean Sea, owned by France, leads among foreign countries in 

 the production of phosphate rock. The companies operating in 

 these fields during 1912 were as follows: Compagnie des Phos- 

 phates et du Cheminde Fer d Gafsa; Societe des Phosphates Tu- 

 nisiens ; Compagnie des Phosphates du Dyr ; Societe anonyme des 

 Manufactures des Glaces et Produits chimiques de St. Gobain ; 

 Societe Franc, d' Etudes et d' Exploitation des Phosphates en Tu- 



*The Production of Phosphate Rock in 1913, by W. C. Phalen, Mineral 

 Resources of the United States. Calendar year 1913 — Part 11, p. 279, 1914. 



