RAW ORE
8000
kt
ICL Rotem | Israel
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. Mining in the Negev utilizes conventional open pit or quarrying methods. ICL Rotem is careful to minimize impacts of its mining activities through responsible planning that also allows for continuous reclamation of depleted mine blocks alongside the ongoing mining operation. \
PRODUCTS & RAW MATERIALS
kt = THOUSANDS OF TONS
PHOSPHATE ROCK
3550
kt
FERTILIZERS
988
kt
MKP
70
kt
GREEN PHOSPHORIC ACID
560
kt
WHITE PHOSPHORIC ACID
162
kt
Phosphate fertilizer is necessary for healthy plants and agricultural production.
ICL’s subsidiary, ICL Rotem, mines phosphate at Rotem and Zafir (Oron- Zin) in the Negev Desert. The mining is conducted in accordance with the phosphate mining concessions. The Company has long-term leases for all the land on which its Israeli facilities are located, and operates under mining concessions and licenses granted to it by the Israel Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources and by the Israel Land Authority.
The Campanian (Upper Cretaceous period) phosphate rock deposits of Israel are part of the Mediterranean phosphate belt extending from Turkey, through Jordan and Israel, and westward through Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. Mining in the Negev utilizes conventional open pit or quarrying methods, using drilling and blasting where necessary, hydraulic excavators and rigid frights trucks or dozers with rippers for overburden removal and front-end loaders and trucks for mining phosphate. ICL is careful to minimize impacts of our mining activities through responsible planning that also allows for continuous reclamation of depleted mine blocks alongside the ongoing mining operation.
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, ICL Rotem paid royalties to the Government of Israel in the amounts of about $5 million, $4 million and $5 million, respectively.
Phosphate rock from the Rotem mine is transported by truck to the nearby beneficiation plant at Mishor Rotem. There, ICL also operates sulphuric acid plants, green phosphoric acid plants, a white phosphoric acid plant, superphosphate plants, granular fertilizer plants, MKP plant and an oil shale combustion plant for production of electricity and steam. ICL also has beneficiation plants at both the Oron and Zin mines. The process output is a high‑grade, multi‑purpose phosphate product, most of which is used to produce phosphoric acid and fertilizers. The rest of this material is sold to other phosphoric acid and fertilizer producers and some is sold for direct application as fertilizer.
Developing Circular Economy Initiatives at ICL Rotem
The ICL Rotem core business is the production of phosphate based products from the phosphate rock that is mined in the Negev Desert. But ICL Rotem has taken upon itself and is dedicating designated resources for finding new opportunities for re-usage of by-products and waste streams by industry partners.
Read MoreAshalim Incident
On June 30, 2017, ICL Rotem experienced a significant environmental incident in which approximately 100,000 cubic meters of acidic phosphogypsum liquid were released into the surrounding environment as a result of a breach in a detainment pond. The Company took immediate action to stop the flow out of the breached pond, in full coordination with the Ministry and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA).
Read MoreLand Rehabilitation and Restorations
ICL Rotem works according to a long-term strategy for planning and managing its mining of phosphate deposits in the Negev. This policy includes conducting comprehensive geological surveys, examining alternatives to mining, defining long-term goals for mining, and sustainable mining.
Read More
Sustainability Reporting Disclosures:
Disclosure: 301-1
