ISIS just seized one of the Syrian regimes last big sources of income

ISIS is touting its newfound control of giant phosphate mines in Syria.

The Khnaifess mines, which sit along the main highway between Damascus and Palymra, the ancient city overrun by ISIS last week, are the second largest phosphate mines in the country. Syria has some of the largest reserves in the world, in normal times they produced around $60 million in revenue a year.

The Damascus propaganda branch of the Islamic State has published a series of photos of the phosphate mines as the latest example of its growing power. 

It is unclear if ISIS has the required logistics and expertise to operate the mines, let alone export the phosphate, given that a significant percentage of Syria’s phosphates is bought by the EU. Syria is among the world’s largest exporters of the rock, but the war has marred its ability to mine and market its supply.

ISIS has sold oil and antiquities on the black market and relies on those sales, along with protection money and local taxes to fund its system. ISIS has in the past advertized for engineers to come work on the refineries it has captured, in some cases offering salaries starting at $200,000.

In 2011, the mines were responsible for about 1.6 percent of the world’s supply of phosphate rock and ranked ninth in the world in terms of the volume of its phosphate rock production. In the first half of 2014, the General Company for Phosphate and Mines reported sales of $30 million on production of almost 500,000 tons, down from 2 million tons in 2011.

“With the suspension of oil exports, phosphates represented one of the last sources of income of the state,” according to Syria Report, an online business weekly.

Translation: “Damascus Province. Photos of the phosphates mines in As Sawannah village #Islamic_state”