Summary

Mine Type	In-Situ
Status	Active
Commodities	Bromine
Mining Method	Brine mining
Production Start	...
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	In 1958, the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan granted Arab Potash Company (APC) a concession for exclusive rights to exploit the minerals and salts from the Dead Sea brine. JBC - a joint venture between APC and Albemarle - operates the Safi facilities primarily consist of the manufacturing of bromine, from bromide-enriched brine which is a by-product of potash operations from the Dead Sea waters, conducted by APC. During 2024, under the patronage of the Prime Minister, APC successfully signed an expanded partnership agreement with Albemarle Corporation, aimed at more than doubling production capacity for bromine and specialized derivative compounds, representing an investment exceeding USD (800) million. The project will contribute to boosting national exports and increasing the Kingdom's GDP.

Deposit type

• Brine

Summary:

Supersaturated with halite, the Dead Sea has an annual negative water balance (i.e., the sea level drops), which is a result of the diversion of fresh water that would normally drain into the Dead Sea. The water deficit by volume is greater than appears as the water level falls because of the coinciding salt precipitation on the sea floor. The water balance is complicated and not well understood because of the variations in freshwater influx, variable evaporation rates, and uncertain subsurface inflow. The evaporation rate of a brine surface decreases with the increase in the amount of dissolved salts and is not comparable to the same evaporation rate of a body of fresh water under the same conditions.

The Dead Sea is the world's saltiest natural lake with a definite chemical stratification. The Dead Sea brine solution contains high concentrations of ions compared to that of regular sea water and has an unusually high amount of magnesium and bromine and low amounts of carbonate and sulfate.

The relative ionic composition of the brine changes through the years because of continual evaporation, ongoing massive salt deposition, and the reinjection of the dense end brines in the south. End-brine reinjection has a local effect on halite saturation and ion/cation chemistry near the southern end of the north basin. The change in brine chemistry generally changes the solubility of evaporitic salt and brine physical properties (i.e., saturation, heat capacity, and viscosity).

Wisniak [2002] reports that an estimated 900 MMt of bromine exists in the Dead Sea. The reason for the high levels of bromine found in the water is not well understood, but the salt brines are believed to have formed during the Tertiary period. The evaporation ponds demonstrate the bromide-enrichment process that is theorized to have occurred many years ago and on a much larger scale. Residual brines are extremely rich in bromide. The feedbrine has a specific gravity of 1.2472 and contains 5,037 parts per million (ppm) of bromide. After controlled evaporation occurs in the southern basin ponds following the precipitation of halite and carnallite, the residual brine has a specific gravity of 1.3412 and 8,742 ppm of bromide [JBC production reports].

Mining Methods

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

- subscription is required.

Commodity Production

Commodity	Units	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Bromine	kt	....	....	....	....	....

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Dec 2, 2025
.......................	.......................		Dec 2, 2025