Impact on UK’s Economy

ICL’s Boulby mine is the deepest mine in the UK and has been operating for 50 years. The Boulby mine has produced potash for many years and currently it is the world’s first and only polyhalite mine. The mine is a central part of the local economy. It is estimated that ICL’s Boulby mine contributed £115 million to the UK economy in the 2019 financial year. \

9.2

Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030 significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries.

ICL Boulby, is a producer and supplier of polyhalite—a naturally occurring fertilizer, which ICL sells to domestic and international agricultural markets as Polysulphate.

ICL commissioned a study to measure ICL Boulby’s contribution to the local and national economy, including its employment. The study, performed by Oxford Economics, quantified Boulby mine’s current impact on local, regional and national economics. The study also focused on how this impact will grow, based on ICL’s plans to increase its production of polyhalite.

THE CURRENT ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BOULBY MINE

In the 2019 financial year, it is estimated that the Boulby mine supported a £33 million contribution to the local GDP across six surrounding local authorities of Hambleton, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Ryedale, Scarborough, and Stockton-on-Tees.

Boulby mine’s contribution to economic activity is greater when assessed at the national level. The Oxford Economics study found that in the 2019 fiscal year, the mine’s activity stimulated a £115 million contribution to the UK’s GDP—reflecting additional supply chain and wage-financed consumer spending that occurred elsewhere in the UK. Boulby mine’s total economic impact is the sum of the three channels of expenditure: direct, indirect, and induced.

Gross value added stimulated by wage payments. The payment of wages by the Boulby mine and by firms in its supply chain supported a £50.7 million gross value added contribution to GDP across the UK. Some £17.9 million of this contribution was made in the local area—equivalent to 35% of the nationwide total. This is because approximately 94% of Boulby mine’s staff reside in the local area and spend their wages in communities surrounding the mine.

Employment stimulated by wage payments. Boulby mine’s induced impact supported 750 jobs across the UK in FY2019. Of these, 300 jobs, or 40%, were in the local area, reflecting the high percentage of the mine’s own employees who live locally, and its use of local suppliers.

Tax revenues stimulated by wage payments. Across the UK, the wage-induced spending of Boulby mine’s staff, and staff in its supply chain, supported a further £13.6 million in tax payments to the Exchequer. Nearly half of this (some £6.7 million) comprised taxes on products such as VAT, while £4.9 million of this total was labour taxes (either income tax or National Insurance contributions). Some £3.5 of this total induced tax contribution was sustained in the local area

The study estimates that Boulby mine’s procurement along its UK supply chain supported a gross value added contribution to GDP of £58.7 million in FY2019.

The study estimates that Boulby mine’s procurement along its UK supply chain supported a gross value added contribution to GDP of £58.7 million in FY2019. Some £20.4 million (or 35% of the total) of the GDP supported was in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, along with £11.7 million (20% of the total) supported in the North East. The indirect contribution to the local area’s GDP was £10 million.

ICL’s Impact on the Employment Rate in the UK

In FY 2019, the mine directly employed 518 people—of which 94% were living in the local area. Adding to this the local impact of the mine’s procurement and the payment of wages by the mine and its suppliers, the study found that, in total, the mine’s activity supported 1,050 jobs in the local economy.

It therefore has a local employment multiplier of 2.0—for every job at the mine, its activities stimulate one other job elsewhere in the locality.

At the UK level, the mine supported 2,480 jobs in FY2019. This means that for every job at the mine itself, its expenditure supports another 3.8 jobs elsewhere in the UK.

The mine’s employees are rewarded with relatively high wages: their average annual salary puts them in the top 10% of earners in Teesside and North Yorkshire, making the Boulby mine one of the highest-paying employers in the local area. These wages stimulate expenditure in local communities, helping to sustain nearby shops, pubs and restaurants, and other businesses.

8.2

Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors.

In FY2019, it is estimated that Boulby mine supported £40 million in tax revenues for the UK Exchequer.

Future Economic Impact of Boulby Mine

ICL plans to expand its production of polyhalite at the Boulby mine over the next several years (through FY2024). This will generate more employment and economic activity at the site itself, and will also boost local and national supply chains, as well as the consumer economy through the payment of additional wages.

In FY24, the study estimated that Boulby mine will support an estimated £118 million contribution to local GDP. The mine’s impact on GDP at the national level is projected to rise to £209 million over the same time period.

The mine’s total employment impact is also predicted to rise over the next five years. The number of jobs in the local area and the whole UK are predicted to rise by 10% and 9%, respectively.

Sustainability Reporting Disclosures:

Disclosure: 203-2

Impact on UK’s Economy

THE CURRENT ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BOULBY MINE

ICL’s Impact on the Employment Rate in the UK

Future Economic Impact of Boulby Mine

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