Searles Valley Minerals
Searles Valley Minerals is a United States-based mining and chemical-production company centered on the mineral-rich Searles Lake basin in California.
Last updated November 4, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Searles Valley Minerals is a raw-materials mining and chemical-production company whose principal industrial complex is located in Trona, in California's Searles Valley. The company extracts mineral-rich brines and evaporite deposits from the Searles Lake basin and converts them into industrial chemicals including borax, boric acid, soda ash, salt cake, and salt. It also owns and operates the Trona Railway, a short-line railroad that connects the Trona industrial area with the wider rail network. The business traces its origins to John Wemple Searles's discovery of borax in the dry lake bed during the 1860s. After arriving in the region while seeking precious metals, Searles instead found commercially valuable white crystalline deposits. In 1873 he began organized production through the San Bernardino Borax Mining Company. Early shipments were moved by long mule trains to coastal markets, although the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Mojave in 1876 provided a more practical transportation route. The original borax operation was sold to the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1895 and shut down at that location the following year. Modern industrial development began with the American Trona Company, established in 1913 by Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa. The company completed the Trona Railway in 1914 and established the company town of Trona, whose name refers to soda-ash crystals associated with the lake basin. Potash production began in 1915. After the business became American Potash & Chemical Corporation in 1926, its output expanded to include borax, soda ash, and sodium sulfate. Production and processing capacity grew substantially over the following decades, making the operation central to the local economy. The enterprise experienced labor tensions after the Second World War, including allegations that Latino workers received lower wages than White workers. Later changes brought Latino employees into managerial roles. The company also received national recognition in 1962 for a solvent-extraction process designed to recover boric acid and potassium sulfate from relatively weak brines. In 1974 American Potash was acquired by Kerr-McGee. Kerr-McGee subsequently sold the company town, reduced production sharply in 1982, and implemented major layoffs. Ownership changed repeatedly in the late twentieth century. Kerr-McGee sold the Searles Valley facilities in 1990 to investors associated with D. George Harris and Associates, who formed North American Chemical Company. IMC Global acquired that company in 1998. Sun Capital Partners acquired IMC Global in 2004, and the Trona and Westend operations were renamed Searles Valley Minerals. In November 2007, Karnavati Holdings, a subsidiary of India's Nirma Limited, purchased Searles Valley Minerals from Sun Capital Partners. The Trona facility has been described as producing approximately 1.75 million tons of chemicals annually and as the largest employer in the town. Its operations occupy government-owned land and generate royalty payments to federal and state governments, with some royalty revenue supporting local school districts. The site has also participated in Climate VISION, a voluntary public-private effort aimed at reducing industrial greenhouse-gas emissions. Searles Valley Minerals operates alongside significant environmental and energy issues. Its brine ponds have been associated with bird deaths caused by salt toxicosis, salt encrustation, and oiling. The company agreed in 2005 to a mitigation arrangement involving bird protection and rescue, limits on the permitted annual take of birds, and financial support for wetland creation at Owens Lake. The adjacent Argus Cogeneration Plant includes a 63-megawatt coal-fired unit commissioned in 1978; a larger second unit began operating in 1991 but ceased operation in 2014. In 2025, the owner announced a plan to partially replace the remaining coal generation with solar-thermal technology. The company's later financial position became uncertain, with reference material reporting a Chapter 11 filing in June 2026 to seek court supervision of a sale of its assets.
History
The industrial history of Searles Valley Minerals begins with the discovery of borax in the Searles Lake basin by John Wemple Searles during the 1860s. Searles had come to the region in search of gold and silver, but the dry lake bed's white crystalline deposits proved to be commercially significant. In 1873 he organized the San Bernardino Borax Mining Company and began producing borax. Transportation was initially difficult: mule teams hauled the material in wagons toward San Pedro. The opening of the Southern Pacific Railroad route to Mojave in 1876 brought the operation closer to a dependable rail connection. Searles sold the San Bernardino Borax Mining Company to the Pacific Coast Borax Company in 1895. The purchaser, associated with Francis Smith, ended production at the company's portion of Searles Lake the next year. A new phase began in 1913 when the British-owned Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa established the American Trona Company. The company completed the Trona Railway in 1914, linking the developing industrial area with the Southern Pacific system, and created the company town of Trona. The town's name refers to trona, a sodium-carbonate mineral formed in evaporating, chemically concentrated waters. Potash production started in 1915. The enterprise completed the American Trona Corporation Building in San Pedro in 1917 for processing and storing potash-related materials. In 1926 it became the American Potash & Chemical Corporation. During the following decades, the company broadened production from potash into borax, soda ash, sodium sulfate, and related mineral chemicals. Output and processing capacity expanded through the postwar period, establishing the Trona complex as the dominant industrial institution in the valley. The postwar period also brought labor and social controversy. The company faced allegations that Latino workers were paid less than White workers. Later, Latino employees advanced into managerial positions. Technological development remained important: in 1962 the company received national recognition for a solvent-extraction process that recovered boric acid and potassium sulfate from weak brines. Kerr-McGee acquired American Potash in 1974. It did not retain the company town and later sold it. A production reduction in 1982 was accompanied by extensive layoffs, reflecting difficult market and ownership conditions. In 1990 Kerr-McGee sold the Searles Valley production facilities to investors connected with D. George Harris and Associates, who formed North American Chemical Company. IMC Global acquired North American Chemical Company in 1998. Sun Capital Partners acquired IMC Global in 2004, after which the Trona and Westend facilities adopted the Searles Valley Minerals name. In November 2007, Karnavati Holdings, a Nirma Limited subsidiary, acquired Searles Valley Minerals from Sun Capital Partners. Under Nirma ownership, the business remained centered on mineral extraction and chemical processing in Trona and retained the Trona Railway. The facility has been described as producing about 1.75 million tons of chemicals annually and as Trona's largest employer. Because the operations use government-owned land, the company pays substantial royalties to federal and state governments; some of those payments support local education districts. The company's environmental record includes concerns about brine ponds, wildlife, worker health, and energy use. California wildlife officials identified bird mortality at the ponds from salt toxicosis, salt encrustation, and oiling. A 2005 mitigation arrangement allowed continued bird losses within a specified average limit in exchange for protection and rescue measures and contributions toward a wetland project at Owens Lake. Separate allegations concerned arsenic exposure among workers. The company's position before state water authorities emphasized that the basin's naturally occurring brines can contain high concentrations of dissolved solids, chlorides, sodium, and other minerals. The brines also support unusual haloalkaliphilic microbial life, including an organism capable of using arsenic in respiration. Energy infrastructure has been another defining feature. The Argus Cogeneration Plant, adjacent to the mineral-processing complex, has a 63-megawatt coal-fired unit commissioned in 1978. A second, larger unit began operating in January 1991 but stopped in October 2014. The remaining unit has been identified as California's last operating coal-fired power station. In 2025, the owner announced a proposal to partially substitute solar-thermal generation developed by GlassPoint Solar. Reference material also reports a Chapter 11 filing in June 2026 aimed at initiating a court-supervised sale of the company's assets. The company's ultimate post-filing status requires verification.
- 2026
Chapter 11 filing reported
[1]Reference material reports a Chapter 11 filing intended to facilitate a court-supervised sale of the company's assets.
- 2025
Solar-thermal replacement plan announced
[1]The owner announced a proposal to partially replace the remaining coal-fired generation with GlassPoint Solar technology.
- 2014
Argus Cogeneration Plant Unit 2 ceases operations
[1]The plant's larger second generating unit stopped operating on October 2, 2014.
- 2007
Nirma subsidiary purchases the company
[1]Karnavati Holdings, a Nirma subsidiary, acquired Searles Valley Minerals from Sun Capital Partners.
- 2005
Bird-mitigation arrangement established
[1]The company agreed to a plan involving bird protection, rescue efforts, and funding for wetland creation at Owens Lake.
- 2004
Facilities renamed Searles Valley Minerals
[1]After Sun Capital Partners acquired IMC Global, the Trona and Westend facilities were renamed Searles Valley Minerals.
- 1998
IMC Global acquires North American Chemical Company
[1]IMC Global acquired the company operating the Searles Valley facilities.
- 1990
Facilities sold to North American Chemical Company investors
[1]Kerr-McGee sold the Searles Valley facilities to investors associated with D. George Harris and Associates.
- 1982
Production reduced and layoffs implemented
[1]Kerr-McGee cut production at the operation by approximately half and implemented major layoffs.
- 1974
Kerr-McGee acquires American Potash
[1]Kerr-McGee purchased American Potash & Chemical Corporation and later divested the company town.
Products and positioning
An integrated, resource-based industrial minerals producer focused on extracting and processing naturally occurring brines and evaporite minerals in California's Searles Valley.
Industrial borates · 1873
Borax
Borax is one of the historically central products of the Searles Lake operation. It is extracted from mineral deposits and brines and supplied as an industrial borate for applications requiring boron compounds.
Industrial chemicals
Boric acid
Boric acid is produced from Searles Valley mineral resources and forms part of the site's refined borate portfolio. The company developed extraction technology intended to recover boric acid from weak brines.
Alkali chemicals · 1926
Soda ash
Soda ash is a sodium-carbonate product derived from the chemically concentrated materials of the Searles Lake basin. It became part of the company's expanded product range during the American Potash era.
Sodium sulfate · 1926
Salt cake
Salt cake, commonly associated with sodium sulfate production, is among the bulk mineral chemicals manufactured at the Searles Valley complex.
Industrial minerals
Salt
The company produces salt from the Searles Lake mineral system as part of its portfolio of bulk evaporite and brine-derived products.
Potassium minerals · 1915
Potash
Potash was the first major product of the modern American Trona operation, with production beginning in 1915. Potassium-bearing chemicals remained part of the site's historical chemical-production base.
Controversies
2005
Bird mortality at Searles Valley brine ponds
California wildlife authorities identified deaths of migrating birds at the company's brine ponds, citing salt toxicosis, salt encrustation, and oiling. Searles Valley Minerals agreed to mitigation measures involving bird protection and rescue, a limit on the average permitted annual take, and contributions toward wetland creation at Owens Lake.
Allegations of arsenic exposure among workers
The company faced allegations concerning arsenic poisoning of plant workers. In proceedings before the State Water Resources Control Board, the company argued that naturally occurring brines in the basin contain high concentrations of dissolved solids, chlorides, sodium, and other minerals.
Labor discrimination allegations
After the Second World War, the predecessor company faced allegations that Latino workers were paid less than White workers. Later, Latino employees were promoted to managerial positions.
Brand decisions
2026
Chapter 11 restructuring and asset-sale processOtherBackground
Reference material reports that the company sought court protection while preparing for a sale of its assets.
Action taken
Searles Valley Minerals reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2026.
Aftermath
A court-supervised sale process was reportedly intended to follow. The filing and the company's current operating status require verification.
2025
Plan to transition part of Argus generation to solar thermalStrategyBackground
The Argus Cogeneration Plant's remaining coal-fired unit has been identified as California's last operating coal power station, creating pressure to change the site's energy mix.
Action taken
The owner announced a plan to partially replace coal generation with solar-thermal technology supplied by GlassPoint Solar.
Aftermath
The ultimate implementation and effect on the plant's operations require further verification.
2007
Nirma acquires Searles Valley MineralsM&ABackground
Sun Capital Partners sold the company after owning the former IMC Global operations.
Action taken
Karnavati Holdings, a subsidiary of India's Nirma Limited, purchased Searles Valley Minerals.
Aftermath
The company became part of Nirma's industrial group and continued operating the Trona-area mineral facilities.
2004
Rebrand facilities as Searles Valley MineralsStrategyBackground
Following Sun Capital Partners' acquisition of IMC Global, the Trona and Westend facilities required a new operating identity.
Action taken
The facilities were renamed Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.
Aftermath
The Searles Valley Minerals identity became the name associated with the company's California mining and chemical operations.
Recent events
Tata Chemicals North America acquires US soda ash customer contracts from Searles Valley Minerals[2]
Reported:
Tata Chemicals North America Inc, a wholly-owned US subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Ltd, entered into an Assignment and Assumption Agreement with Searles Valley Minerals Inc USA to acquire soda ash customer contracts covering more than 500,000 metric tonnes for supply from September 2026 through December 2028. TCNA was declared the successful bidder in SVM USA's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and the transaction was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware with cash consideration of $21.16 million, subject to customary closing conditions. The contracts are expected to generate revenues of more than $110 million over the contract period.
- Unconfirmed
Tata Chemicals North America named successful bidder for Searles Valley Minerals soda ash customer contracts[3]
Reported:
Tata Chemicals North America Inc. (TCNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Chemicals, was declared the successful bidder in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Searles Valley Minerals Inc. (SVM) for the acquisition of SVM's North American soda ash customer contracts representing over half a million metric tons of customer orders through December 2028. TCNA entered an Assignment and Assumption Agreement with SVM, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the assignment and assumption of the specified customer contracts.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/searles-valley-minerals · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled