Research papers of John G. Robertson

This small collection contains a range of research material particularly focused on the mining of potash in Yorkshire in the 1950s to 1970s (U DX88/1) and the Zuckerman Commission on Mining and the Environment (1971-1972) (U DX88/2). The material includes various submissions made by interested parties to the Zuckerman Commission as well as maps, articles, reports and extracts from newspapers concerning Yorkshire potash. There is also some general material, including articles and magazines, on mining in the UK as well as correspondence, reports and other documents relating to the Local Inquiry conducted into the applications by Cleveland Potash Ltd to mine in North Yorkshire (1950s-1970s).

Potash is an overarching name for various salts, both mined and manufactured, which contain potassium in its water-soluble form. Potash is now mined all over the world, including in the UK for example at the Boulby Mine near Redcar by Cleveland Potash Ltd, with the majority being used in fertilizers.

The Commission on Mining and the Environment (also known as the Zuckerman Commission) was set up by Rio Tinto-Zinc (RTZ, later the Rio-Tinto Group) with Lord Zuckerman as Chair. The Commission published its report in September 1972. Around this time, the government also established a committee to investigate the issue of planning control of mineral developments and another concerning Britain's National Parks, in an effort to oversee plans by groups like RTZ to mine in such areas.

Access will be granted to any accredited reader

Donated by John Graham Robertson, Department of Geography, University of Hull, 15 Mar 1974

Subject File. Mineral Workings (Off-Shore Installations) Bill and offshore installations [U DMC/379]

Other repositories:

Cleveland Potash, Teeside Archives [ref. U.HW/7/69]

Potash: development of Yorkshire potash deposits, National Archives [ref. BT 344/16-18]

Whitby Potash Inquiry, London Metropolitan Archives [ref. LMA/4287/02/541/1-2]