Boulby Mine

The Boulby Mine is an underground mining operation with surface facilities located just south-east of the village of Boulby, on the north-east coast of the North York Moors, 2.7 miles (4.3 km) east of Loftus, North Yorkshire. It is operated by Cleveland Potash Limited, a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals Ltd., ICL, which acquired the project from Anglo American plc in April 2002. In early 2016, polyhalite mining commenced. Polyhalite is a natural multi-nutrient fertiliser providing a source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur. It is marketed as Polysulphate by ICL and is sold in three forms: granular, mini-granular and standard. As well as producing Polysulphate, a granulated blend of potash and Polysulphate is sold as PotashPluS – part of ICL's wider FertiliserPluS product spectrum. Boulby originally produced half of the United Kingdom's output of potash, an agricultural fertiliser. The mined ore consists of 35–45% sylvite ("potash", specifically potassium chloride) and 45–55% halite (rock salt, or sodium chloride). The rock salt is extracted as a by-product and used across the region as a de-icing agent on roads in winter conditions. Other minerals are produced as waste (gangue) to the main effort, but may be sought after by mineral collectors, such as boracite, which occurs just above the beds of potash.