Sirius secures further deals for planned potash mine
THE developer of the proposed York Potash mine in North Yorkshire today said it had signed a further deal with customers in China that now sees commitments over 75% of phase one production.
Sirius Minerals has signed two memorandums of understanding, each for 500,000 tonnes of polyhalite a year for 10 years with Jiangsu Luling Chemical Industry Group and Huaken International.
Sirius said that the terms will be at market price to be agreed at the final contract stage.
Sirius is seeking planning permission to develop a huge potash mine in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park at Sneaton near Whitby.
Based in Suqian in the Jiansu province, Luling is one of the top fertilizer companies in Eastern China and specialises in organic fertilizers and environmental biotechnology.
Huaken is a subsidiary company of China State Agribusiness Group, one of the top four agribusiness enterprises in China. With a distribution network across China, Huaken produces specialised fertilizer products requiring specific licenses in the Chinese market.
Sirius said that there are currently agreements and commitments for customers from China, Africa, Central and Latin America, Europe and South East Asia to purchase a total of 3.78m tonnes per annum of polyhalite from the York Potash Project, representing over 75% of phase 1 production.
Chris Fraser, managing director and CEO of Sirius, commented: “The global demand for polyhalite continues to grow as customers in key markets around the world increasingly understand the value of this multi-nutrient mineral. This provides further support for the York Potash Project and the thousands of jobs it will create in North Yorkshire and Teesside.”
