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The Dead Sea Works (, ''Mif'alei Yam HaMelakh'') is an Israeli
potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.
plant in Sdom, on the
Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
coast of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.


History

Under the British administration, concessions from the Mandatory government were given. On January 1, 1930, the "Concession for the extraction of salts and minerals in the Dead Sea" was granted to Palestine Potash Limited by the governments of
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and Transjordan jointly.Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 260, June 1, 1930, p424. The company, whose directors included Moshe Novomeysky, had been incorporated in England in 1929 and registered as a foreign company in Palestine in 1930.Official Gazette of the Government of Palestine, No. 252, February 1, 1930, p76. From 1936, it was a profitable enterprise despite attempts by the German potash cartel to strangle the business by dumping potash at below-cost prices.The political economy of Israel: From ideology to stagnation, Yakir Plessner
/ref> In the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, the northern half of the production facilities was occupied by the Jordanian Legion, which was destroyed in the ensuing fighting. In 1951, the company was nationalized by the Israeli government under the Ministry of Development. In 1953, it was renamed the Dead Sea Works.


Today

Dead Sea Works is the world's fourth-largest producer and supplier of potash products. The company also produces magnesium chloride, industrial salts, de-icers, bath salts, table salt, and raw materials for the cosmetic industry. It has customers in over 60 countries. Dead Sea Works is part of the Fertilizers Division of Israel Chemicals Ltd. It is located in the southern basin of the Dead Sea and the extracted chemicals are exported around the world. Rather than extracting potash and other minerals from the Dead Sea by mining them directly, the company makes use of solar evaporation with 2-meter deep evaporation ponds.


Controversy

Dead Sea Works has been blamed by conservationists for polluting the environment and contributing to the Dead Sea's evaporation. Geological significance of the Dead Sea


See also

* Arab Potash *
Economy of Israel An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
* Ahava


References


External links


Company website

19th century boat of British explorer displayed at Dead Sea Works"Wealth from the Dead Sea" ''Popular Mechanics'', November 1930, pp 794-798
{{Authority control Chemical companies of Israel Dead Sea Economy of Israel Potash 1929 establishments in Mandatory Palestine