Green light for £1.5bn York Potash transport project

THE FIRM behind the £1.5bn York Potash Project has received approval for transport plans around the site, but still has a long way to go until the project can be delivered in full.

Listed mining firm Sirius Minerals Plc has been given the green light by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to grant permission for the York Potash mine and mineral transport system.

Sirius says the scheme will annually extract up to 13 million tonnes of polyhalite.
The company wants to take the fertiliser from underneath the North York Moors National Park, using an underground tunnel to transfer it to a proposed handling site at Wilton, near Redcar, for distribution.

It says the mine will create 1,040 direct jobs, with a further 1,010 supported in the construction and development phase, and £1.2bn delivered in exports, but it still needs the approval of North York Moors National Park Authority to go ahead.

The verdict is set to be delivered on the project as a whole by summer 2016.

The company wants the site, earmarked for Bran Sands, on the mouth of the River Tees, to handle the fertiliser polyhalite from its proposed £1.5bn York Potash Project mine, near Whitby.

The remaining key applications are that part of the ‘straddling application’ for the mine and MTS which has been submitted to the North York Moors National Park Authority; the materials handling facility application, which has been submitted to RCBC; and the application for the harbour facilities which has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

Chris Fraser, managing director of Sirius, commented: “We are delighted with the positive decision from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for this substantial part of the Project and look forward to further progress with our other applications.
“The application is a significant part of the overall approvals required for the delivery of the Project and an important step forward for Sirius.”

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