Indeed, Estonia's underground holds an estimated 9.6 billion tons of material — the very same resource that once sparked the Phosphorite War. This rock was deposited here long before the Soviet Union, Estonia or even humankind existed. Around 500 million years ago, a warm coastal sea, resembling today's Baltic Sea, covered this area, providing a habitat for shell-like marine organisms.

"Just as sand accumulates on modern shorelines, sands were deposited back then as well. The creatures that lived there built their shells from phosphorus-containing minerals. Over time, storms and waves piled up these shells. In certain locations, which we now call phosphorite deposits, the concentration of these shells became significant, leading to high phosphorus content," explained Lauri Joosu, a senior geologist at the Estonian Geological Service.

In essence, Estonia's phosphorite is made up of ancient marine shells. Several places in Estonia were once sites where the sea deposited massive heaps of these shells. The largest deposits are located in the Rakvere, Aseri, Tsitre, Maardu and Toolse areas along the northern coast.

Today, people have discovered that the phosphorus in these shells can make plants grow faster and more abundantly, almost like magic. The potential for profit was already recognized in the last century, but last year, samples were taken from Toolse in Lääne-Viru County for further examination.

Drilling was carried out using pipes with a diameter of 1.2 meters and material was extracted with a bore bucket. The upper layers of limestone were set aside. "Once we reached the phosphorite we were interested in, we separated and collected it for sampling. In total, we drilled seven such boreholes," Joosu explained.

The sandy material extracted from depths of up to 30 meters was mixed together and packed into one-ton bags. Out of the 25 tons of collected samples, three were sent to the University of Liège in Belgium. The university's department of mineral resources and metallurgy, which specializes in analyzing such materials, first examined the samples under a high-powered electron microscope. After extensive negotiations, the "Impulss" team was granted permission to film the research process.

David Bastin, the head of the Liège University laboratory, explained that the microscope helps identify minerals. "This way, we can determine which minerals contain phosphorite, which waste minerals are associated with it and how freely available it is. If we want to separate different minerals, they need to be independent of each other. What's unique about this ore is that it's already free — it doesn't need extensive grinding."

Next, researchers will investigate how to separate the valuable grains from the waste — essentially filtering out the phosphorous-rich marine shells from the surrounding sand, some of which are visible to the naked eye.

"We have technologies that allow us to separate particles based on size. This method can be used for this ore since its composition is relatively simple. We can also separate minerals by density, as apatite — the mineral containing phosphorus — is heavier than quartz," Bastin explained.

However, simply extracting the shells isn't enough. For the entire operation to be economically viable, the material needs to be processed into a product that can be sold on the global market — such as phosphoric acid, which has numerous industrial applications.

"You can stop at producing phosphoric acid, but you can also refine it further. For example, to produce lithium phosphate — a raw material for batteries — you can add various additives to create complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium," said Birgit Mets, a technology expert at the Estonian Geological Service.

There are many possible applications. On one hand, phosphorus fertilizers are crucial to global agriculture. On the other, phosphorus is also needed for high-tech batteries. There are several ways to extract phosphoric acid from the ore. For Estonia's resource, chemical treatment with acids, such as hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, seems the most promising.

"The beauty of chemistry is that everything works well on paper, but when we test it on actual Estonian phosphorite, we must consider its specific composition and unique formation characteristics. We can't predict with 100 percent certainty how it will behave in the process," Mets noted.

For scientists, this is routine work — testing whether laboratory experiments yield the expected results. But since the goal is to assess economic feasibility, the researchers must determine whether the process can be scaled up profitably. That's why, instead of just a few grams, they collected several tons of samples. However, it is still too early to predict profitability.

"Since we don't yet know the exact composition of the phosphoric acid that will be produced, we can't analyze the market potential. The commercial applications depend heavily on its final composition," Mets explained.

This research isn't only happening in Belgium — there are also plans for tests in Bulgaria and other countries, though the exact locations have yet to be confirmed.

The project, which began in 2023, is expected to conclude by Midsummer 2026, according to Lauri Joosu. The total cost is €6.1 million.

Ultimately, the research will determine how much it would cost to mine phosphorite, extract phosphoric acid and estimate its potential market value. Scientists are also assessing the environmental impact of mining and the costs of mitigating any damage. While phosphorite mining sparked major societal debates in Estonia decades ago, experts believe technological advancements have addressed some of the concerns raised in the past.

"As far as processing is concerned, I can say with confidence that technology has advanced so much that there is no reason to worry about the kind of environmental risks that existed in the past," Mets assured.

That said, the completion of the study does not mean Estonia will immediately begin large-scale mining and phosphoric acid production. In fact, the results could suggest the opposite.

"This research should provide the necessary data for Estonia to make an informed decision as a society — whether to continue studying the resource further or conclude that it's best to leave the phosphorite untouched in the ground," Joosu summarized.

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