Tel Aviv — Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) is facing another battle with environmentalists opposed to the expansion of its phosphate mine at Nahal Zin. ICL subsidiary Rotem Amfert has requested permission to mine phosphates in an area adjacent to Table Mount in the Negev. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has expressed its opposition to the plan. SPNI said that the site is part of an area that has been designated as a reserve for animals and plants in the Negev. Despite the strong opposition from SPNI, the country’s National Parks Authority has reached an agreement with ICL that would grant the company the right for limited mining operations if it agrees to restore and rehabilitate the area. SPNI has expressed its opposition to the authority’s position, charging that the mining will totally ruin the area, and that in any case the ecological nature of the area makes it impossible to rehabilitate. ICL notes that the area in question is adjacent to Nahal Zin, where mining operations have been taking place since the 1970s. Meanwhile, the Regional Planning Council is currently studying sites that ICL has requested permission for mining operations. The council will then make its recommendations on where it will approve future mining operations, and under what conditions.
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