Shareholders give green light to £1bn potash fundraising

THE shareholders of Sirius Minerals have agreed the £1bn funding for its North York Moors Potash mine.

The company raised £370m in a share offer, £330m through a convertible bond offer, and it was confirmed in October that it had raised a further £250m agreement through a royalty agreement with Australian mineral exploration business Hancock Prospecting.

The funding for the Whitby project will allow it to begin preparation works at the site.

Geotechnical studies are being completed, as are highways improvements which are meant to start in the new year. Detailed site preparation works are due to begin in Q2.

The scheme is forecast to see 3bn tonnes of polyhalite – a mineral which is used as a fertiliser – mined for more than 100 years. Sirius believes it will have the capacity to produce 20m tonnes a year and make an annual contribution to UK GDP of £2.3bn.

Russell Scrimshaw, chairman, commented: “Today’s successful General Meeting concludes the Stage 1 Financing and delivers a major milestone for Sirius Minerals.

“The financing has taken a huge amount of work and dedication from everyone at the Company and also from those that support our business. We are now focussed on the construction programme ahead and the path to first production for our North Yorkshire polyhalite project.

“This has been an outstanding result for Sirius, but we believe it only represents the end of the beginning.”