Posted on 07/13/2023 6:54:34 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A significant discovery has been made in Norway that could have a positive impact on electric cars. Norge Mining, a government organization responsible for finding valuable minerals, recently found large deposits of phosphate rocks in the country. These rocks can be used to power electric cars.
According to the mining company, there could be up to 70 billion tonnes of phosphorus in Norway, which is enough to meet the demand for electric power generation for the next 50 years. Phosphorus is an important mineral listed by the European Union as crucial to the economy. Previously, the largest deposits of phosphate rocks were found in the Western Sahara region of Morocco, containing around 50 billion tonnes. Estimates from the US Geological Survey (USGS) suggest that China has about 3.2 billion tonnes of phosphate, while Egypt has approximately 2.8 billion tonnes.
Phosphorus is a limited resource that will eventually run out. More than 90 percent of phosphorus reserves are currently used to produce fertilizers for farming, leaving only a small portion available for other industries. This heavy reliance on phosphorus for agriculture raises concerns about its availability for other sectors, leading to limitations in growing certain crops.
The use of phosphate fertilizers in farming can also have negative impacts. Runoff from these fertilizers into rainwater can cause algae blooms in rivers, posing risks to freshwater ecosystems.
Phosphorus is also essential for the production of solar panels, computer chips, and lithium-iron phosphate batteries used in electric cars. The global economy relies on approximately 50 million tonnes of phosphorus each year. While electric cars and solar panels offer environmental benefits, the extraction and refining process for phosphorus can be highly polluting.
Norge Mining has expressed its commitment to using carbon capture technology to reduce the carbon emissions associated with phosphorus extraction. Additionally, the phosphate deposits found in Norway also contain valuable materials like vanadium and titanium, which are classified as critical raw materials by the EU due to their limited availability.
Overall, this discovery of phosphate deposits in Norway brings hope for sustainable power generation in electric cars. Efforts are being made to minimize the environmental impact of phosphorus extraction, and the presence of other valuable materials adds further value to this resource.
The next step is figuring out how to get the Globalists to PERMIT the use of Phosphates.
Could we not use more manure for fertilizer instead of mined and manufactured powders?
Is there downside to using composted human waste as fertilizer? Would seem to be a plentiful supply if could be safely handled. We use cow manure aplenty in Michigan.
With manure you need to be concerned about heavy metals when using on plants destined for human consumption. I would guess that would also apply to plants that will be fed to animals destined for human consumption.
While I'm sure that the metals could be processed out, I wonder about the economics of scaling up. The amount of fertilizer needed for agriculture in the US must be massive.
Personally I suspect the "evils" of phosphate/nitrogen fertilizers are greatly exaggerated. For example, if you live in an area with frequent lightning when it rains (Florida T storms) that lightning releases nitrogen from the air which is carried to the soil by the rain. It's not just the rainwater that greens up lawns during summer thunderstorm season.
Phosphates fuel cars? New one on me.
The story was about phosphate being used in EV batteries and not fertilizer. I don't imagine Norway needs much fertilizer. I doubt that there is any agriculture on much of a large scale there.
Idiot authors!
Phosphorus has a concentration in the Earth's crust of about one gram per kilogram (compare copper at about 0.06 grams). Silicon (the most-common element) is about twenty times more common in the Earth's crust than phosphorus.
It is the ELEVENTH most-common element in the Earth's crust - just behind hydrogen and before manganese.
It is, of course, limited - in the sense of finite. But it can be recycled! It doesn't just "disappear" when used!
Regards,
Phosphorus is FERTILIZER! They are literally choosing electric cars over FOOD!
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