Potash firm gives update to City

A new potash mine near Whitby '‹'‹will create a world leading fertiliser business employing over 1,000 long term workers at full production and a further 1,500 workers will be employed indirectly, according to its owner Sirius Minerals.

Sirius said the York Potash project will deliver a huge boost to North Yorkshire and Teesside and will have a value of over £10bn, rising to £19bn when production starts.

The firm said it will invest an initial £2.4bn to reach production.Sirius issued its long-awaited Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for theYork Potash project this morning.

It said that at full production, the mine's annual contribution to UK GDP would be £2.3bn, with £2.5bn of exports helping to decrease the 2015 balance of trade deficit by seven per cent.

The mine at Dove's Nest Farm at Sneatonthorpe will produce 20 million tonnes of potash a year and production is scheduled to start in 2021.

Chris Fraser, managing director and CEO of Sirius, said: “The business that is created from this project will sit as a world leader in the fertiliser industry based here in the UK. It is expected to have a low operating cost structure, high margins and a very long asset life in one of the most business-friendly, stable and dynamic economies in the world.

“In delivering this project we can create thousands of jobs in North Yorkshire and Teesside, deliver billions of pounds of investment to the UK and put the country at the forefront of the multi-nutrient fertiliser industry.

“Work is advancing with our financing partners globally to bring together the pieces of the initial financing of this pproject.”