Phosboucraa operates in Boucraa (Southern Regions in Morocco) where it mines, processes and markets phosphate rock and, in the near future, customized fertilizers.
The company was established in 1962 by the Spanish state-owned enterprise Instituto Nacional de Industria with mining operations starting in 1972. OCP Group acquired a 65% ownership share of Phosboucraa in 1976 and became the sole owner in 2002.
Today, the mine at Boucraa has an extraction capacity of 4 million tons of phosphate rock per year, transported along a 102km conveyor (the longest in the world) to the port at Laayoune for processing and export. Through investment, these numbers will grow further and the addition of a fertilizer manufacturing plant will be transformative to the regional value chain.
Phosboucraa is a major contributor to the local and regional economy: sustaining a growing network of 50 local SMEs, suppliers, and service providers employing over 600 people from the local community, supported by a Phosboucraa fund of USD 54 Million.
Direct and indirect employment opportunities for local communities are a real focus for the company. With an average annual revenue of USD 200 Million, Phosboucraa is engaged in a development program of approximately USD 1.8 Billion to move its operations up the value chain from raw materials to phosphate fertilizers by 2026. In addition to creating new revenues and local jobs directly, the investments will stimulate many more jobs indirectly.
This will generate substantial local value-adding activities just as the other OCP Group site-specific investments programs have boosted their respective local economies and regions.
For the local communities and businesses, the benefits of this strategy are immediate and transformational in the long run. Our long-standing commitment to the region and its communities goes far beyond the size of its reserves.
Regional development through strategic investments
Approximately 85% of the total investments to develop Phosboucraa since its creation have been made since 2002 when Phosboucraa became fully owned by OCP. These have led to significant improvements in operational efficiency, employees wellbeing and allowed for a greater consolidation of assets, including substantial improvement of the company’s overall sustainability performance.
The current investment program will profoundly expand Phosboucraa’s industrial capabilities by 2026. OCP Group has dedicated a significant share of its global investment program to the development of Phosboucraa (i.e. approximately 16% of the Group’s total CAPEX). Between 1977 and 2020, USD 2.9 Billion total NPV of cash-flows have been injected by Phosboucraa into the Sahara.
This new round of investments ensures the long-term sustainability of the mining operations, so does accelerating the social and economic development of the region – a target for OCP across all of its operations. Investment includes:
- Investing in regional industrial development projects
- Promoting the emergence of a local network of suppliers and subcontractors
- Initiating structurally transformational projects in the areas where the Group operates
Operations
In 2021, Phosboucraa represented approximately 2.12% of OCP Group’s total revenue, -1.6% of its profits (EBITDA) and 9% of its extracting capacity.
Phosboucraa’s activities are located in 3 different locations:
Mining activities are located in Boucraa, 110 km by road from Laayoune on the edge of the Sahara Desert
The beneficiation plant and the wharf are located at Laayoune , 20 km from the city. The world’s longest conveyor belt, 102 km long, transports phosphates from the mine to Laayoune
Operational headquarters are located in Laâyoune city
With an installed mining capacity of 4 million tons per year, Phosboucraa operates the smallest phosphate ore deposit owned by OCP Group. The Boucraa region holds approximately 2% of Morocco’s total Phosphate reserves, according to the US Geological Survey and the International Fertilizer Development Center.
