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ICL extracts three main minerals – Potash, Bromine and Phosphate which are raw materials for most of the downstream products that are part of the integrated value chains it has developed over the years. ICL is granted concessions and licenses to extract raw materials from mines located in Israel, the UK, Spain and China. They provide a consistent, reliable supply of raw materials, which are manufactured into products that fulfill global needs in agricultural, food and engineered materials markets.
ICL has successfully passed a certification audit under UNE 22470 and 22480 standards which accredit the Company as a sustainable mining company. As a result, ICL is the first large-scale underground mining company of non-arid minerals in Spain and Europe certified in Sustainable Mining for all its activity.
Read MoreICL Iberia has received the 2020 Infrastructure Award from the Infrastructure Advisory Council of Catalonia, for the construction of the new terminal in the Port of Barcelona. This state-of-the-art terminal, inaugurated last summer, allows ICL to commercialize, by shipping, the potash and salt that the company extracts from the Suria mine, with greater storage and loading capacities, more efficiency and with focus on sustainability.
The Cabanasses ramp became operational in April 2021, after about nine years of construction. It is a key part of ICL Iberia's industrial project, helping to make its activity safer, more efficient and sustainable from both an economic and environmental perspective. The ramp construction was a work of enormous technical complexity, with an average slope of 19%, and with peaks reaching 21%.
The finalization of the ramp has already eliminated the circulation of hundreds of trucks which used to transport the extracted mineral to the Suria plant (now it's done through a series of conveyors belts), which help reduce our CO2 emissions and increase road safety. It has also immediately helped increase air circulation in the mine, thus improving working conditions and our employees' safety. In terms of production, it is helping to gradually increase the production levels, which are expected to reach one million tonnes per year.
ICL is researching and testing the possibilities of using waste and byproducts from both inside and outside the Company as raw material. This is a part of ICL’s path towards a circular economy.
For example, excess salt in ICL DS is being used in various circular economy projects in infrastructure and restoration. Another example was created during mapping and testing of various by-products, as ICL discovered that a by-product created as part of its magnesium production process is beneficial in a new market and it is now marketed and sold as a new product.
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ICL produces a significant portion of its primary raw materials. Sulfur and Ammonia are among the primary raw materials acquired from external sources.
The principal raw materials used by ICL Industrial Products (IP) for the manufacture of its end products are Bromine, Chlorine, Phosphorous and Magnesia. Bromine is found naturally in seawater, underground brine deposits and other water reservoirs, such as the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the world’s premier source of bromine, with concentration levels significantly higher than in regular seawater, and the Dead Sea accounts for almost half of global supply (including production of Bromine on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea). ICL IP uses most of the Bromine it mines to produce bromine compounds at its production sites in Israel, the Netherlands and China.
ICL’s Phosphate Solutions Division is based on a phosphate value chain, which uses phosphate rock and fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid to produce specialty products. The Phosphate rock is mined and processed from open pit mines, three of which are located in Israel and the fourth is located in Yunnan province in China. The primary raw materials acquired from external sources are mainly Sulphur, Ammonia, different grades of pure Phosphoric Acid and Caustic Soda.
ICL’s Innovative Ag Solutions Segment was established on the foundations of ICL’s Specialty Fertilizers business. Primary raw materials acquired from external sources by ICL Specialty Fertilizers are KNO3, SOP, Ammonia, NPK granules, Urea, KOH and coating materials.
In consideration of the concessions, ICL pays royalties and taxes to the governments of Israel, China, UK and Spain. Below are the royalty amounts paid in 2018, 2019 and 2020 ($ millions):
| Israel | Out of Israel | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 75 | 2 | 77 |
| 2019 | 82+20* | 3 | 85 |
| 2018 | 71+62* | 4 | 75 |
*In 2019 and 2018, the Company paid additional amounts of $20 million and $62 million, respectively, regarding royalties in Israel relating to prior periods. For further information regarding royalties, see Note 18 to our Audited Financial Statements.
