Sirius expects annual exports of £2.5bn from "world-leading" fertiliser business

SIRIUS MINERALS, the company behind the transformational York Potash Project, has set out detailed financial forecasts as it ramps up preparations for the development.

The company believes 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.

The scheme was approved by planners last year and would see 3bn tonnes of polyhalite – a mineral which is used as a fertiliser – which could be mined for 100 years. It believes it will have the capacity to produce 20m tonnes a year.

It requires a shaft to be dug a mile into the moors, near Whitby, to reach polyhalite. A 23-mile tunnel containing underground conveyor belts would then link the mining site to a processing plant in Teesside.

The publication today of its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) values the fertiliser business at more than £10bn, rising to £19bn when production starts.

Chris Fraser, managing director of Sirius, said: “The business that is created from this project will sit as a world leader in the fertilizer 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 fertilizer industry.”

It will require £2.4bn of investment to reach the initial production, but the scheme would create more than 1,000 long term jobs when it is at full production and a further 1,500 indirectly.

Following the study, the stock market-listed company re-ran its economic modelling and has now assessed its contribution to the economy. It has doubled its annual export value, to £2.5bn, which if done today would decrease the balance of trade deficit by 7%.

Its annual contribution to UK GDP has been forecast at £2.3bn.

Mr Fraser added: “Work is advancing with our financing partners globally to bring together the pieces of the initial financing of this project.  This process is expected to take a number of months but certain parts of the early construction activity, such as highways upgrades, are commencing soon to facilitate an efficient start of the project.”