Potash refining
Overview
Cleveland Potash operates the UK's only potash mine, producing refined potassium chloride for use mainly in the manufacture of fertilisers. The mine is located on the edge of the North York Moors National Park and 12 miles along the coast from the popular historic town of Whitby. The mine is 1100 metres deep, making it the deepest mine in Europe.
Operations on the site are complex. The work underground involves preparatory work where ore is undercut, drilled, charged and blasted, then continuous mining machines mill the ore from the rock face itself. Shuttle cars then move the ore to conveyor belts where it is transported to bins for transport to the surface.
Once in the refinery on the surface the ore is crushed in rod and ball mills. After treatment with reagents, the potassium chloride is separated from the salt and clays by froth flotation, and then dried in rotary kiln dryers.
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