Application of optical, chemical and thermal methods to the analysis of inorganic and organic constituents in phosphatic pellets (Tunisia)

A study of “pellets”, phosphatic grains whose size lie between 50 and 200 Μm, of the Tertiary Gafsa Metlaoui basin (Tunisia) has been performed by X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, CNS elementary analysis, microscopy (photonic, conventional MEB and Cryo-MEB), Rock-Eval analysis. The X-ray diffraction shows that the fundamental mineral within these phosphatic pellets is “carbonate-fluorapatite” or “francolite”