MINERAL INDUSTRIES 
PHOSPHATE. 
105 
The following statement on the production of phosphate in 
Florida was issued by the State Geological Survey in May, 1918, 
as Press Bull, No. 8.* 
“The phosphate industry of Florida has now in volume of out- 
put almost regained its pre-war condition. This fact is brought 
out by co-operative statistics on production gathered by the Fed- 
eral and State geological surveys. At the present time the ship- 
ments of phosphate are very largely for domestic consumption, 
the export business having been almost wholly cut off. However, 
the domestic shipments for 1917 lack only about a half million 
tons of equaling the maximum combined domestic and export ship- 
ments for any year previous to the war. The record shipment of 
phosphate in Florida is for 1913, the year immediately preceding 
the war, and amounts to 2,545,276 tons. This amount represents 
the combined domestic and export shipments, more than one-half 
being exported. During 1917 the shipments, which were almost 
entirley domestic, amounted to 2,022,599 tons or to within ap- 
proximately a half million tons of maximum pre-war shipments. 
“The extent to which the war has affected the phosphate in- 
dustry may be realized from the following figures on shipment of 
phosphate rock from 1 Florida: 1913, total shipments 2,545 ,276 
tons; 1914, 2,138,891 tons; 1915, 1,358,611 tons: 1916, 1,515,845 
tons; 1917, 2,022,599 tons. It is thus seen that shipments of phos- 
phate fell to a minimum during 1915. In 1916 there was an ap- 
preciable increase, and in 1917 a very decided increase. 
“The recovery of the industry has been due to increased out- 
put in the pebble phosphate fields together with a small production 
of soft phosphate. Total shipments of pebble phosphate in 1913 
were 2,055,842 tons; 1914, 1,829,202 tons; 1915, 1,308,481 tons; 
iqi6. in.68,758 tons; IQ17, 2,003,991 tons. The pebble industry 
therefore lacks but little having - regained maximum nroduction. 
“The shioments of hard rock phosphate necessarilv continue at 
*The Phosohate Industry of Florida During 1917, by E. H. Sellards, Fla. 
Geol. Surv., Press Bull., No. 8. 
