Bou Craa

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The phosphate deposits of the region were discovered by chance in 1947, when the Spanish geologist Manuel Medina Alia evaluated rock samples in order to date the age of Hammada formations. After he found a 27-percent share of phosphate, he was commissioned to further investigate. In a fully equipped laboratory in El Aaiun, he analyzed samples with 50-60 percent phosphate, a worthwhile content for degradation. In 1962, the company Empresa Nacional del Sáhara Minera SA (ENMINSA) was established, which estimated the phosphate deposits of Bou Craa up to 2000 million tonnes within an area of ​​1200 square kilometers. For the entire region five times the amount estimated.
(translation from the german wikipedia page)
Phosboucraa employs 2500 people and produces more than 2 million tonnes
in a year.