New appointment at Cleveland Potash

08 March, 2012

Phil Baines succeeds Grahame Clarke as general manager of company’s Boulby Mine

CLEVELAND Potash Ltd (CPL), a business unit of ICL Fertilizers, have announced the appointment of Phil Baines as general manager of the company’s Boulby Mine, near Saltburn-by-the-Sea, in Cleveland. Mr Baines commences his new position with immediate effect, succeeding Grahame Clarke, CPL’s former general manager who left the company last October.

Mr Baines (pictured) brings more than 30 years of mining industry experience to CPL, where he will lead its continued development and expansion of activities. He held a number of management positions in the Yorkshire coalfield over a 20-year period prior to joining CPL as their mining manager in 2004.

Commenting on his new appointment, Mr Baines said: ‘I’m delighted to become CPL’s general manager, a position from which I will work to extend CPL’s leadership as a producer of potash while ramping up its new polyhalite mining activities. We have a committed and experienced team at CPL, and I believe that we are entering an exciting period of growth.

‘At Boulby, the second deepest mine in Europe, we mine at depths of up to 1,400m under the North Sea, and many kilometres from shore. The production of potash as well as other products such as rock salt will remain an important part of our business.

‘In parallel, the mining of polyhalite is an extraordinary opportunity that we believe will secure the future of Boulby and its workforce for many years to come, while hopefully creating new employment in the region.’

Polyhalite is a mineral consisting of calcium, magnesium and potassium sulphates. CPL’s geological studies indicate that more than a billion tonnes of raw polyhalite are located in the company’s Boulby Mine beneath the potash deposit and approximately 1.5km offshore.

The mineral can be crushed to produce a bulk fertilizer rich in sulphur, and CPL plan to develop a processing facility to further exploit the mineral’s full potential. The company was recently awarded a £13.3 million grant from the UK Government’s Regional Growth Fund to develop this unique asset.