About our crop nutrients business

Agriculture is facing a significant challenge: how to grow more food to feed more people, whilst combatting climate change and healing damaged soils.

Anglo American Crop Nutrients will contribute to a more sustainable way of feeding the world by developing innovative natural mineral polyhalite crop nutrition products from the Woodsmith Mine in North Yorkshire. 

We aim to become a global leader in sustainable crop nutrition, helping to support healthy soils and drive environmentally friendly fertiliser practices at scale.

The Woodsmith Project is a truly unique development currently under construction in North Yorkshire, UK.

It comprises a new mine site south of Whitby in North Yorkshire and a 37 kilometre tunnel that will transport the naturally occurring mineral, polyhalite, to new processing and shipping facilities on Teesside.

It will produce polyhalite, a naturally occurring mineral containing potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium, four of the six key nutrients required for plant growth. It will be sold as a low chloride, multi-nutrient fertiliser suitable for organic use that can boost crop yields and aid more sustainable farming.

Anglo American Woodsmith Project Overview

Anglo American Woodsmith Project Overview -

Woodsmith mine

Our state-of-the-art mine is being constructed two miles south of Whitby in the North York Moors National Park.

Polyhalite ore will be extracted via two mine shafts and transported outside of the National Park to Teesside on a conveyer belt system in an underground tunnel, avoiding any impact on the countryside above. It will then be granulated at a materials handling facility, with the majority being exported to overseas markets.

Find out more via our interactive Woodsmith experience

Designed with nature in mind

We take our location in the North York Moors National Park and our responsibility to our environment incredibly seriously.

The whole design philosophy of our project is to minimise our environmental impact as much as possible – both in construction and operations.

All major infrastructure at Woodsmith will be sunk below ground so that when the mine is completed, no mining equipment will be visible

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All major mine infrastructure is being buried underground

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37 kilometre mineral transportation tunnel excavated, to avoid any impact on the landscape above.

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Location away from villages, screened by bunding and woodland

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Processing outside National Park – no emissions, cabling, infrastructure etc

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Low impact production process

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Leadership team

The Crop Nutrients Executive Committee oversee the running of the Crop Nutrients business and development of the Woodsmith Project.

Meet our leadership team