Russia's Uralkali Potash Mine

Employees work inside a Uralkali potash mine near the city of Berezniki in the Perm region, close to the Ural Mountains.

An aerial view of a Uralkali potash mine near Berezniki. The Uralkali company has a market value of some $14 billion.

Employees at work in a Uralkali potash mine. The mineral is used mainly in fertilizer production, and is one of the three most widely-used fertilizers worldwide.

An employee checks an underground store of potassium salts at a Uralkali potash mine. The company's mines draw on the Verkhnakamskoe deposit in the Ural Mountains, one of the largest deposits in the world.

A miner operates machinery in a potassium mine.

Unprocessed potassium salts in a Uralkali potash mine

An employee holds processed potassium salts at a Uralkali potash mine.

An employee at an above ground pile of processed potassium salts at a Uralkali potash mine.

Processed potassium salts from a Uralkali potash mine are loaded at a port in the town of Solikamsk near the Ural Mountains.

Waste from a potash mine is loaded at a port in Solikamsk in Russia's Perm region.

Waste from a potash mine creates a mini mountain near the Russian town of Solikamsk.