Bou Craa (also transliterated as ''Bo Craa'', ''Bu Craa'' or ''Boukra'') (,

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: ⴱⵓⴽⵔⴰⵄ, ) is a town in

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

, south-east of the main city of El Aaiún. It is inhabited almost exclusively by employees of

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

company Phosboucraa, a subsidiary of Morocco's OCP Group. Historically located in the Saguia el-Hamra region, Bou Craa is the site of a phosphate deposit of over 1.7 billion tons. Mining operations by Phosboucraa started in 1972. During the Spanish

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

of the area (see

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara (; ), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain bet ...

), many early recruits of Sahrawi nationalist movements such as the Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab and

Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...

were workers in the phosphate mines. The town became part of the Moroccan-controlled zone in the April 1976 partition resulting from the Madrid Accords. It has remained in Moroccan hands, though mining was paused in 1976 as a result of Polisario guerilla attacks. During the

Western Sahara War The Western Sahara War (, , ) was an armed conflict between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991 (and Mauritania from 1975 to 1979), being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The confl ...

, the Polisario sabotaged and disabled this transportation system several times. These attacks gradually ceased in the early 1980s when the town become enclosed by the Moroccan Wall, which consolidated Moroccan control over the north-western part of Western Sahara (the so-called "Useful Triangle"). Mining resumed on a reduced scale in July 1982. Today, the mine produces around 3 million tonnes annually, which represents 10% of Morocco's total production.WESTERN SAHARA: Bou Craa Phosphate Mine
, BHP Billiton Watch, November 15, 2010. The phosphates are transported to the coast by an automated

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

. Approximately long, the belt is the longest in the world and dust blown from it is visible from space.

Twin towns

* Castro Urdiales,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

* Llodio,

References

External links

World’s Longest Conveyor Belt System
from the Bou Craa mine to the port at El Marsa, Western Sahara. Article at

NASA Earth Observatory NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing outlet for NASA which was created in 1999. It is the principal source of satellite imagery and other scientific information about the climate and the environment which are being provided by NASA for ...

, January 21, 2023 Populated places in Western Sahara Mines in Western Sahara Company towns Phosphate mines Rural communes of Morocco Populated places in Laâyoune Province {{LaâyouneSakiaElHamra-geo-stub