The phosphate mines of palmyra are essential for the iran’s nuclear program.

 

In the name of God who made every man from his father in a nuclear reaction using sperm and who put the nuclear uranium deep under the ground so that it would never touch man unless he went there to mine it.

Iran and Russia have secretly bought the phosphate mines of Palmyra in 2017 and they move the phosphate out in trucks as big as houses to the port of Tartous and to Tehran.  Tartous gets three million tons per year and Tehran gets 1 million tons per year. 

Phosphate is a chalky rock made of phosphorus.  On the table of chemical elements at number fifteen.  Phosphorus is between silicon and sulfur in atomic number.  When you add calcium, sulfur, oxygen, or other chemicals to the phosphorus molecule it changes to different kinds of rocks.  Phosphate rocks can be used in many different industries including atomic energy.  Phosphate can be used to produce yellowcake uranium.  Syria has two locations from where they mine all of the phosphate named Sharqiya phosphate mines and Khunayfis phosphate mines.  The phosphate mines are southwest of Palmyra.  Syria has high quality uranium in the Khunayfis phosphate mines. 

In 1971 the first phosphate mine in Syria was opened near Palmyra.  1980 a phosphate processing plant was opened in Homs.  1990, Syria is a world leading producer of phosphate.  2000 Syria is in the top ten for trade of Phosphate.  2010 Syria is the fifth largest in the world for trade of phosphate.  2011 the nightmare revolution in Syria began.  United States put sanctions on the phosphate trade to prevent countries from buying phosphate from Syria. 2017 Syria signed over to Iran the right to operate the Sharqiya and Khunayfis mines of Palmyra.  2018 Russia won a contract for the right of seventy percent of the revenues from the Sharqiya phosphate mine.  Russia moves most of this phosphate through the port of Tartous although a small percentage is directed to the phosphate processing plant in Homs. 

Written by Catherine Alwan December 12, 2023

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