Global phosphorus scarcity will result in significant consequences for future food security with the depletion of current phosphate reserves. Therefore, exploration of new phosphorus sources is essential to address future phosphorus scarcity. The current study investigated the geochemical potential of lake sediment around the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit (EPD) in Sri Lanka to be used as a low-grade phosphorus source for agricultural purposes. Jaya-Ganga is a man-made water canal that drains through the EPD feeding three lakes, namely, upstream Ihalahalmilla Lake and Koon Lake, and downstream Kiralogama Lake with respect to the EPD. Three cores (cores A, B, and C) were collected from the above three lakes and major oxides and minerals distributions along the cores were analyzed. Notable high enrichment of phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅) content and high P₂O₅ solubility values were measured in the top 60 cm sediment layer in Core B and throughout the Core C compared to the Core A. This high enrichment of P₂O₅ content in the same sediment columns were confirmed by the comparison with the Upper Continental Crust (UCC) values and literature survey. According to the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results, phosphate minerals, such as fluorapatite, crandallite, and millisite were abundantly found in the same sediment columns. Therefore, these phosphate minerals can be considered as pathfinding minerals for soluble phosphates in sediment cores. Thus, sediment with high P₂O₅ content and high solubility in downstream Kiralogama Lake showed the potential for application of these sediments as a direct phosphate source in agricultural purposes. Furthermore, the current study has introduced a new area of interest, i.e., soil and sediments around major phosphate deposits, for the exploration of new phosphate sources to meet future phosphorus demand.

全球磷的短缺将导致当前磷储备的枯竭，从而对未来的粮食安全造成重大后果。因此，探索新的磷源对于解决未来磷的短缺至关重要。目前的研究调查了斯里兰卡Eppawala磷酸盐矿床（EPD）周围的湖泊沉积物的地球化学潜力，这些沉积物可用作农业的低品位磷源。Jaya-Ganga是一条人造水渠，通过EPD排水，相对于EPD，这三个湖泊分别向上游的Ihalahalmilla湖和Koon湖和下游的Kiralogama湖三个湖泊供水。从上述三个湖泊中收集了三个岩心（岩心A，B和C），并分析了沿岩心的主要氧化物和矿物分布。五氧化二磷（P₂ ø ₅）含量和高磷₂ ø ₅在核心B和整个核心C顶部60厘米沉积层，测定溶解度值相比，核心A.这种高P的富集₂ Ó ₅中相同的沉积物的列的内容通过与上地壳（UCC）值和文献调查的比较得到证实。根据X射线衍射（XRD）的结果，在相同的沉积物柱中大量发现了磷矿物质，例如氟磷灰石，方铁矿和菱镁矿。因此，这些磷酸盐矿物可被视为沉积物岩心中可溶性磷酸盐的寻路矿物。因此，P ₂ O ₅含量高的沉积物下游基拉洛格玛湖中的高含量和高溶解度表明，这些沉积物有可能作为农业上的直接磷酸盐来源应用。此外，当前的研究引入了一个新的感兴趣的领域，即主要磷酸盐矿床周围的土壤和沉积物，用于勘探新的磷酸盐来源，以满足未来的磷需求。