ICL UK on July 1 marked the first year of “pure poly” operations at its Boulby potash mine in northeast England. General Manager and Vice President of ICL Boulby Andrew Fulton highlighted the progress made in the past 12 months, including moving towards its production target of 700,000 mt of polyhalite – marketed as Polysulfate – by the end of this year (GM May 10, p. 27).
“Matching production to demand,” he said, the company continues to target production of 1 million mt/y by the end of 2020, and 1.3 million mt/y by 2023.
Boulby Polyhalite Output (mt)
| Q1 2019 | 140,000 |
| Full year 2018 | 348,7811 |
| Full-year 2017 | 428,724 |
1 ICL attributed the lower output in 2018 compared with 2017 as reflecting the efforts focused on the final mining of potash at the mine (GM Feb. 8, p. 13).
Fulton noted that in addition to Boulby Polysulfate being sold in the local U.K. market and in growing markets in China and South America, it is moving into new markets, including India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya, Poland, and Romania.
He said ICL Boulby “has and will continue to be able to invest in significant improvements in its infrastructure, including upgrading conveyance and ventilation systems, along with purchasing and installing new equipment both underground and within the processing area, thanks to backing from its parent company, ICL.”