The phosphate occurrences of Northeastern Pará and Northwestern Maranhão were formed by strong lateritic weathering of phosphorus-rich Precambrian rocks. The rock formation affected by those processes were phyllites and schists of the Gurupi Group in Cansa Perna and Pirocaua, a complex of felsic to mafic and ultramafic rocks metamorphosed in the greenschist facies in Itacupim and Trauira and probably phosphoritic "sandstone" in Jandiá. The lithologic sequente observed (A=horizon: ferric oxide-hydroxide and ferric and aluminium phosphate; B=horizon: aluminium phosphate; C=horizon: kaolinite) is generally comparable with that of bauxite deposits, especial.ly those of the Amazon region which were also developed, like the phosphate deposits, during the Tertiary. The mineralogy of the phosphates consists of crandalite-goyazite, wavellite, augelite, mineral-A and wardite-millisite (these are particularly abundant in the "B" horizon); dufrenite, mitridatite, beraunite, mineral-B, lazulite and ferric oxide-hidroxide (in the "A" horizon), apatite (in the bedrock of Itacupim). Dravite, gibbsite and other oxides were also found. These secondary mineral associations are common to all deposits and show only slight variations related to the bedrock. The geochemistry of these deposits is unusual and differs from that of normal bauxites. In particular high concentrations of. Sr, Rb, Ba, Ce, La, Nd, Zr and Nb are observed in the "B" horizon, some of these elements are found in the crandalite goyazite series in which the Sr0-content can be as high as 7%. The geological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of these deposits are similar to the secondary phosphate occurrences of Florida, Utah, and Tennessee CUSPA and also to these of Senegal.
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