New potash mine in the UK?· Page 2

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Peter Burgess
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Newbie

14 years ago

#21

If it got much hotter you would be able to melt it never mind dissolve it!

Knocker
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14 years ago

#22

They mine it deeper and hotter in Canada, its nothing new, at the end of the day it will all be down to supply and demand and the price that commands.

blackshiver
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14 years ago

#23

Half of Teesside is already peppered with solution mined salt deposits. ICI extracted salt many years ago to feed the local chemical industry - leaving huge spherical cavities under both side of the river. We use some of them for storing ethylene now. I used to have an abandonment plan - which was basically an OS map with lots of very large circles scattered all over it.
The shafts (pipes) leading to the cavities are small and can still be seen in some areas of Seal Sands. Pump hot water down and draw concentrated brine upwards,,,,simples.

derrickman
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14 years ago

#24

I remember seeing some of those at Seal Sands some years ago, part of the AMOCO CATS pipeline project if memory serves.

There is a further working area at Easington on the North side of the Humber, I worked there about 5 years ago. The Ormen Lange pipeline comes ashore there from Norway and the salt cavities there were fitted with high-pressure well-heads for use as gas storage capacity

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Alasdair Neill
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14 years ago

#25

Presumably this is following the proposals at Whitby that wew made at the same time as Boulby was first opened, ie 1960's/70's. The consortium then involved major companies such as, I think, ICI and Shell, and the preferred option was solution mining.

simonrail
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14 years ago

#26

At the time, c.1970, the Boulby and Yorkshire Potash proposals were for underground mining, the latter to be at Hawsker. In between was a proposal for solution mining at Egton by Whitby Potash. Having conventional mining and solution mining in the same bed although miles apart sounds dubious to me. As proposed by WPL the solution mining would still have required a processing plant and instead of a pithead lines of pipes snaking about the country similar to the area between the River Tees and Hartlepool.

Yes, I'll have it - what is it?

Knocker
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Newbie

14 years ago

#27

I'm not sure of the viability of solution mining at that depth, there will not be caverns left behind like the salt mines, the potash will just collapse in under stress, will that prevent flow of the solution? The wells will need to be lined through the sandstone phase at around 1KM deep, probably doable, how many holes will be required?

derrickman
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14 years ago

#28

I've never really looked into the subject but I would tend to assume that some sort of hydraulic backfilling would be part of the process.

Modern drilling techniques mean that guided horizontal holes can be drilled for more-or-less unlimited distances, at least for the purposes of the exercise under discussion.

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Knocker
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Newbie

14 years ago

#29

The problem is hitting water under significant pressure in the sandstone. The drillings the easy bit.

derrickman
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14 years ago

#30

hitting water in the sandstone isn't a problem, in the sense that it has been done many times before. The Selby shafts were sunk through it, as was the Boulby one. The water in the sandstone was frozen by chilled brine circulated through patterns of cased wells drilled through the sandstone and grouted above and below to seal the potential flowpaths.

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Knocker
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Newbie

14 years ago

#31

Yes, I'm aware that's how the shafts were sunk (One at Boulby was frozen, the other grouted), and a borehole could easily be drilled that way, the issue is firstly installing a watertight casing (Obviously your knowledge of drilling is greater than mine) in each borehole and secondly the number of times the process needs to be repeated.

derrickman
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Newbie

14 years ago

#32

the Selby shafts had about forty boreholes apiece, each one with a full-length sealed casing. The chilled brine was pumped down an inner string and back up the annulus to the return tanks for re-use.

Most oil-wells are cased over some or all of their length.

1500 - 1800m is nothing exceptional for this sort of operation.

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

blackshiver
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Newbie

14 years ago

#33

Facinating thread and very interesting reading.
Remember the old "shareholders lament" that a mine is a big hole in the ground with a liar at the top of it.
If this lot place shares for listing on the market how many of you are going to put your money where your keyboard is?
Form an orderly line gentlemen.

rikj
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Newbie

14 years ago

#34

And now there is a website, so it must be true:

http://www.yorkpotash.co.uk/

simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration Topic Starter

14 years ago

#35

Is it too early to ask them if we can arrange a trip?

I'll get me coat...

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

Knocker
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Newbie

14 years ago

#36

With he likely cost of development, I still reckon cleveland potash will end up buying the rights and expanding Boulby. When I was at Boulby in 1999 we were looking at sinking down to a seam at 2200m

derrickman
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Newbie

14 years ago

#37

I would agree, I find it very difficult to believe that there is a viable market for two indepently operated underground potash mines in the UK.

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

rikj
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Newbie

14 years ago

#38

Planning applications in to the NYM National Park for trial drilling sites at Ugglebarnby and Hawsker.

http://www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk/news/business/plans_submitted_for_potash_drilling_1_3383754

Edd
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Newbie

14 years ago

#39

They seem to be very optamistic about the ammount of money to be made from the venture

'I started reading it with full intention to read it all and then got bored and went and got beer instead!'

Gavin
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Newbie

14 years ago

#40

If you ever get chance of going on a trip down the Boulby potash mine it's GREAT not every day,that you can travel round a mile under ground in a transit van.
The day we went I got to see most of the different machines in use and they made us really welcome,a great experience.
😉 :thumbsup:

GAVIN