Abstract
The Al-Risha phosphate resource deposit in northeastern Jordan represents a promising phosphate ore requiring beneficiation to improve its suitability for industrial utilization. This study characterized the physical, chemical, mineralogical, petrographic, and microstructural properties of the phosphate deposit and evaluated physical, chemical, and thermal beneficiation approaches. Representative samples were characterized by particle-size analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), petrographic microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). Beneficiation experiments included dry and wet sieving, hydrochloric acid (HCl) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) leaching, and calcination. The representative phosphate head sample contained 26.70 wt.% P2O5 and was dominated by francolite associated with calcite, quartz, and minor gypsum. Dry sieving provided limited upgrading, whereas wet sieving produced the highest P2O5 grade of 38.19 wt.% in the 0.250 mm fraction, with a mass yield of 41.54%, P2O5 recovery of 59.42%, and an upgrade ratio of 1.43. Among the chemical treatments, 5% (v/v) H3PO4 provided the most favorable balance between grade and phosphate recovery, producing 35.60 wt.% P2O5 in the 0.250 mm fraction with a mass yield of 80.62% and recovery of 97.72%, whereas increasing the acid concentration to 10% (v/v) adversely affected beneficiation performance. Calcination at 950 °C for 2 h increased the P2O5 grade to a maximum of 33.73 wt.%. Overall, the results revealed a trade-off between concentrate grade and phosphate recovery: wet sieving achieved the greatest physical enrichment and represents a promising reagent-free pre-concentration step, whereas dilute H3PO4 leaching provided the best balance between concentrate grade, mass yield, and phosphate recovery. These findings demonstrate the beneficiation potential of the Al-Risha phosphate deposit and provide a basis for further process optimization and techno-economic evaluation.