A Teesside potash maker is hoping the emerging polyhalite market can be the catalyst for exponential growth.
ICL Fertilizers already produces more than one million tonnes of potash for fertilisers and around 650,000 tonnes of salt each year from its Cleveland Potash mine at Boulby.
While the firm will continue these activities, it has also embarked on a multi-million pound expansion plan that aims to capitalise on the commercial potential of polyhalite, a triple salt-based mineral containing potassium, magnesium and calcium which can be turned into fertiliser to help farmers improve crop yields.
ICL is investing £38m in improvements to its mining infrastructure, including advanced mining and crushing facilities, which will give it the tools to make polyhalite in large volumes.
It also wants to build a £50m granulation plant that will convert fine polyhalite into granules for agricultural use - giving farmers a preferred form of the mineral. ICL said the new facility could be operational within three years and would enable the firm to significantly ramp up production levels.
MD David Zvida
David Zvida, general manager and managing director of ICL UK, said: “We currently produce about 100,000 tonnes [of polyhalite] a year but we’re hoping that will increase to 500,000 tonnes in 2017 and 600,000 tonnes in 2018.
“It’s a relatively new market and a big step for us. Effectively, we’re moving from a pilot stage to large-scale production.
“If the market develops in the right way, as we believe it will, I see no reason why we can’t increase production to these levels - and we could do much more than that.”
The main potash made by ICL on Teesside - a potassium chloride-based product known as muriate of potash (MoP) - currently accounts for around four fifths of its UK business. But polyhalite is expected to play a much bigger role in the business as the market develops.
ICL, which employs around 1,150 staff on Teesside, is not the only player bidding to make money from the mineral. York Potash announced plans to build a polyhalite mine south of Whitby after discovering what is thought to be the world’s largest seam below the North York Moors National Park. The company claims the project is still on track despite pulling part of its planning application for the scheme.
ICL said it “was not concerned” with activities at York Potash and would concentrate on its own expansion plans. The Teesside firm is also aiming to create a £1.8m research centre that will allow scientists and academics to conduct geological and environmental studies at the Boulby mine. Funded by the Science & Technology Facilities Council, it is expected to be up and running later this year and will replace the existing Palmer lab at Boulby, which is more than 13 years old and coming to the end of its shelf life. Organisations such as NASA will be able to use the lab to examine the potential for biological life in potash, as well as a wide range of other projects.
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