Boulby Mine
Encyclopedia
Boulby Mine is a 200 hectares (494.2 acre) site run by Cleveland Potash, located just southeast of the village of Boulby, on the northeast coast of the North Yorkshire Moors in Redcar and Cleveland
, England
. It is Europe's second deepest mine
at 1400 metres (4,593.2 ft)—Pyhäsalmi Mine
in Finland
is even deeper, being 1,448 metres deep—producing half of the UK's output of potash
, an agricultural fertilizer. As a by-product the mine produces rock salt, used across the region as a de-icing agent on roads in winter conditions.
Much of the output from the mine is transported by rail, as the site is located south of Loftus along the route of the former WRMU (Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway
), closed on 5 May 1958. Today the line is open from Saltburn
to Boulby for goods traffic only.
Construction on the mine began in 1969, and the mine began producing potash in 1973. The mine was the source of all of the UK's home-produced potash—around 55 percent of the total UK market. It occurs between 1.2 kilometre (0.745647283979768 mi) and 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) below ground and has an average seam thickness of 7 metres (23 ft).
Because of its depth, Boulby Mine is used to house the ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector 1,100 meters below the surface in the Boulby Underground Laboratory.
It also housed the UK Dark Matter Collaboration
.
The mine also houses the Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks
(DRIFT) detector, a low pressure negative ion time projection chamber (NITPC) designed to detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) - a prime dark matter
candidate. There are currently two DRIFT detectors in operation. DRIFT-IIb, which is located 1100 m underground in the Boulby Underground Laboratory at the Boulby Mine in and DRIFT-IIc, which is located on the surface at Occidental College
, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is Europe's second deepest mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
at 1400 metres (4,593.2 ft)—Pyhäsalmi Mine
Pyhäsalmi Mine
Pyhäsalmi Mine, the deepest metal mine in Europe is located at the Pyhäjärvi municipality in the south of Oulu province, Finland. The zinc and copper mine is owned by Inmet Mining, a Canadian mining corporation.- History :...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
is even deeper, being 1,448 metres deep—producing half of the UK's output of potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
, an agricultural fertilizer. As a by-product the mine produces rock salt, used across the region as a de-icing agent on roads in winter conditions.
Much of the output from the mine is transported by rail, as the site is located south of Loftus along the route of the former WRMU (Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway
Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway
The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway was a short lived railway line, running along the northeast coast of England from the River Tees at Middlesbrough to the Esk at Whitby, where it met the Scarborough & Whitby Railway line and the Whitby and Pickering Railway...
), closed on 5 May 1958. Today the line is open from Saltburn
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea is a seaside resort in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The town is around east of Middlesbrough, and had a population of 5,912 at the 2001 Census.-Old Saltburn:...
to Boulby for goods traffic only.
Construction on the mine began in 1969, and the mine began producing potash in 1973. The mine was the source of all of the UK's home-produced potash—around 55 percent of the total UK market. It occurs between 1.2 kilometre (0.745647283979768 mi) and 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) below ground and has an average seam thickness of 7 metres (23 ft).
Because of its depth, Boulby Mine is used to house the ZEPLIN-III dark matter detector 1,100 meters below the surface in the Boulby Underground Laboratory.
It also housed the UK Dark Matter Collaboration
UK Dark Matter Collaboration
The U.K. Dark Matter Collaboration was an experiment to search for Weakly interacting massive particles . The consortium consisted of astrophysicists and particle physicists from the United Kingdom, who conducted experiments with the ultimate goal of detecting rare scattering events which would...
.
The mine also houses the Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks
Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks
The Directional Recoil Identification From Tracks detector is a low pressure negative ion time projection chamber designed to detect weakly interacting massive particles - a prime dark matter candidate....
(DRIFT) detector, a low pressure negative ion time projection chamber (NITPC) designed to detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) - a prime dark matter
Dark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
candidate. There are currently two DRIFT detectors in operation. DRIFT-IIb, which is located 1100 m underground in the Boulby Underground Laboratory at the Boulby Mine in and DRIFT-IIc, which is located on the surface at Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
, Los Angeles, California, USA.