Mineral production from Searles Dry Lake first began in 1873. Over a century later, Searles Valley Minerals acquired all the mineral and manufacturing assets in Searles Valley. These assets were first developed by the historic companies American Potash and Chemical Corporation and the Westend Chemical Company and later owned by Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation, Harris Chemical Group, Inc., IMC Global Inc. and Sun Capital Partners, Inc. before becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Nirma Ltd. in December 2007. Located in Gujarat India, Nirma Ltd. is a large integrated manufacturer of consumer products (primarily detergents and soaps) as well as soda ash and industrial salt.　

Searles Valley Minerals utilizes a unique solution mining technology to extract the minerals from beneath the surface of Searles Lake and recovers these minerals in its three manufacturing plants located in Trona California. Partially depleted brine is returned to Searles Lake where it dissolves additional minerals from the lakebed for future production. Searles Valley Minerals owns and / or leases more than 25,000 acres of land in Searles Valley for its operation. The company produces borax, boric acid, soda ash and salt. It also owns the Trona Railway. The three manufacturing plants in Trona extract and ship 1.75 million tons of minerals per year. Searles Valley Minerals has its corporate offices located in Overland Park, Kansas.

Searles Valley Minerals ships thousands of tons of high grade mineral product daily to major manufacturers in 52 countries.　 Overseas sales account for over half of their annual revenue. The Searles Valley Minerals sales staff has spent years cultivating and actively responding to the needs of markets in Western Europe, South America and the Pacific Rim.

Searles Valley Minerals is more than a commodity producer. The company’s mission is to meet the needs of their customers around the world with "leadership in services and quality."  Advancing technology around the globe and their rapid response to new demands and opportunities make many things possible — televisions; personal computers; calculators; digital clocks; books and magazines; clean clothes; a tank of gas; and reflective traffic signs.

Searles Valley Minerals Inc. is part of Climate VISION (Voluntary Innovative Sector Initiatives: Opportunities Now), a public / private partnership which is seeking to reduce US industry greenhouse gas emissions.

The company invests capital resources into employees, equipment, technology, alternative technology and operational efficiency.　 These capital resources all are retained in the United States.