Boulby Mine

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Surface workings at Boulby Mine
Surface workings at Boulby Mine

Boulby Mine is a 200ha site run by Cleveland Potash, located just north of the village of Boulby, on the North East Coast of the North Yorkshire Moors in Cleveland, England. It is Europe's second deepest mine (Pyhäsalmi Mine in Finland is even deeper, being 1,448 meters deep) producing half of the UK's output of potash, an agricultural fertilizer. As a by-product the mine produces rock salt, used across the region as a de-icing agent on roads in winter conditions.

Much of the output from the mine is transported by rail, as the site is located south of Loftus along the route of the former WRMU - Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway, closed on 5th May 1958. Today the line is open from Saltburn to Boulby for goods traffic only.

Construction on the mine began in 1969 and the mine began producing potash in 1973. The mine produced all of the UK's home grown potash - around 55 % of the total UK market. It occurs between 1.2 & 1.5 km below ground and has an average seam thickness of 7 meters.

Because of its depth, Boulby Mine was also used by the UK Dark Matter Collaboration, who ran experiments 1,100 meters below the surface.

[edit] See also

  • Winsford – home of Britain's largest rock salt mine