ICL conducts major mining operations at Israel’s Dead Sea – the lowest area of dry land in the world and among the
saltiest bodies of water on Earth.
Minerals extracted include potash, bromine, sodium, magnesia, magnesium chloride and metal magnesium.
ICL’s mining operations in the UK are located in the North York Moors National Park in northern England and are conducted both under land and under the North Sea. The Boulby mine’s 1,300m depth, makes it the deepest in Great Britain. As of June 2018, ICL Boulby primarily mines polyhalite, an organic fertilizer which ICL markets as Polysulphate, potash and rock-salt.
ICL currently operates two potash mines, in Suria and Sallent, both of which are located in the province of Barcelona and are approximately 530 to 900 meters below the surface.
ICL’s subsidiary, ICL Rotem, has been surface mining phosphate at Rotem and Zafir (Oron- Zin) in the Negev Desert for more than sixty years. ICL Rotem minimizes the impacts of its mining activities through responsible planning that also allows for continuous reclamation of depleted mine blocks alongside mining operations.
ICL operates a joint venture, YPH JV, with Yunnan Phosphate Chemicals Group which engages in phosphate open-pit mining at Haikou and which also holds a concession for mining in the Baitacun mine.
Potash (potassium chloride) is one of the three major nutrients required for plant growth. It is vital for the physiological processes of plant growth, and improves the durability of the produce it fertilizes, helping agricultural products survive storage and transportation as well as prolonging their shelf life. There are currently no artificial substitutes for potassium.
Phosphorus is derived from phosphate rock. Phosphate is one of the three major nutrients required for plant growth. Phosphorus directly contributes to a wide range of physiological processes in a plant and accelerates the growth rate of crops. There are currently no artificial substitutes for Phosphorus.
Bromine is a member of the halogen family, and is known for its diverse uses in many industries. Bromine is rarer than about 75% of elements in the Earth’s crust and is found in seawater and underground brine deposits. Due to its high concentration of salt, the Dead Sea is a major source of the world’s Bromine.
Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the earth’s crust and plays an important role in plant and animal life.
Sulfur is the fifth most common element on Earth. It is an essential plant nutrient and is required by all crops for optimum growth and production.
ICL’s global leadership in the Bromine industry is driven by its focus on delivering value to its customers rather than increasing volume. ICL is able to generate more value by leveraging its unique assets and know-how and by fostering innovation through the development of new applications, such as new Bromine and phosphorus based flame retardants, magnesia and salt products, as well as solutions for energy storage, urban mining and others. ICL continues to leverage its unique logistical advantages and unparalleled experience related to the safety and environmental aspects of its Bromine business.
ICL leverages its well-positioned and unique Potash assets, as well as its logistical advantages, to be among the three most competitive suppliers in its key target markets, including the EU, Brazil, India, South-East Asia and China. ICL’s cost competitiveness is driven by its low logistics costs due to its facilities’ proximity to ports and customers, as well as by continuous optimization of its Potash production methods at ICL Dead Sea and ICL Iberia, reducing costs and efficiently utilizing its capacity potential. At ICL UK, the Company has shifted towards exclusive production of Polysulphate, being the first and only supplier of this new and unique fertilizer. ICL also continues to enhance its competitive position in Magnesium and to optimize synergies with its Potash operations at the Dead Sea.
ICL is a global leader in providing Phosphate based solutions to the Industrial, Food and Agriculture end markets. ICL’s strategy is to continue to outgrow these markets by increasingly focusing on specialty Phosphate solutions, further promote commercial excellence and value-based product positioning, while enhancing customer relationships. Specifically, ICL will strengthen and develop its Food Phosphate offerings by expanding geographically and capturing White Phosphoric Acid (WPA) and Phosphate Salts growth opportunities in China. Leveraging on its backward integration to the Phosphate resources of ICL Rotem in Israel and YPH in China, ICL will continue optimizing its upstream capabilities to support substantial growth and margin expansion of its specialty Phosphate products and solutions.
ICL is working to create global leadership in Innovative Ag solutions by leveraging its R&D capabilities to enhance its product pipeline and by promoting commercial excellence and a value-based product positioning. ICL also benefits from synergies resulting from its broad range of products, extending from commodity fertilizers, semi-specialty fertilizers, specialty fertilizers to Innovative Ag Solutions. ICL is expanding its Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRF) production capacity and is promoting Polysulphate as its flagship product to drive the company’s broad range of semi-specialty blended fertilizers. To further boost growth, ICL continues seeking to engage in partnerships and successfully target and execute M&A opportunities to expand its technological portfolio and develop farmer-centric solutions based on digital innovation.
Our potash, phosphate fertilizers and technology-rich specialty fertilizers are critical inputs that help farmers worldwide to increase their yields and improve the quality of their crops.
Our industrial additives and materials such as flame retardants, phosphate salts and specialty phosphate blends that are used in thousands of products to make them safer, more durable and longer-lasting.
