Abstract: In light of the unique ability of ribonucleic acid (RNA) to both retain genetic information and catalyze chemical reactions, it has been proposed that life on Earth progressed through an RNA world. It has been demonstrated that phosphate was present on an early Earth and due to the prevalence of modern-day energy metabolisms that rely on phosphorylation, it is likely that phosphate played a key role in prebiotic chemistry. We characterize a number of phosphate-based reactions ranging from formation of triphosphates to RNA repair. We establish that cyclic trimetaphosphate reacts with nucleosides to form nucleoside triphosphates in concentrations sufficient to sustain polymerization. We also demonstrate the first known example of ribozyme-mediated repair of damaged and mismatched RNA sequences using pyrophosphate. Taken in concert, these reactions provide insight into the potential functions of phosphate in an evolving RNA world.