May 17, 2021
The Ministry of Industry intends to conduct a strategic study on the phosphate sector by the horizon of 2040, according to what the ministry has published on its official website.
This study aims to ensure the sustainability and recovery of phosphate, and it will be undertaken by one of the study offices.
The research focuses on four major axes, namely:
- The mining activities of extraction, transportation, processing, storage, delivery and logistic.
- Activities related to the extraction of phosphate derivatives from converting, storing, transporting and loading.
- Governance of the phosphate sector.
- The environmental and social impacts of phosphates.
It is noteworthy that the phosphate sector witnessed a setback on more than one level after the 2011 revolution, as production decreased from 8 million tons in 2010 to 3, 7 million tons in 2019, as a result of sit-ins, social movements, and the suspension of train transport.
After Tunisia had been the third producer of phosphates in the world, it was forced by the end of 2020 to start importing 500 thousand tons.
Phosphate production began in Tunisia in 1897, after the discovery of layers of calcium phosphate in the Mount Frosta by the French geologist Philippe Thomas.
