Company hopes for Potash nod
Sirius Minerals has submitted the final information about plans for its proposed York Potash Project to the relevant local authorities.
Sirius said it looks forward to a decision being made in the near future.
The decision is expected in May following the submission of supplementary environmental i nformation for i ts mine, mineral transport system and materials handling facilities.
After a series of application delays and withdrawals over the last 12 months it had been expected that the North York Moors National Park Planning Authority would be in a position to make the long-awaited decision at its January meeting.
Sirius claims that 2,140 jobs will be created i f the project gets planning permission and the mine would contribute £1 billion to the British economy each year.
In addition it says it will pay £234 million in tax contributions to the Government each year, with £ 48 million being paid to the local economy.
It follows on from last month’s news that the York Potash project had signed its first agreement to supply the animal feed supplement market in what it described as an “unprecedented move” for the company into a market worth around US$2bn (£1.3bn) annually.
Sirius Minerals, which i s based in Eastfield, said the animal feed supplement market is being driven by rising incomes in large population countries and the associated shift to higher protein diets. The market is growing around six per cent a year.
It added that the deal underlines the growing appeal of the company’s POLY4 product. In total, Sirius has secured customers for around 6m tonnes of product annually, with options for an additional 900,000 tonnes.
The latest deal is for 50,000 tonnes a year with a leading US distributor of high quality mineral animal feed ingredients in North America.
It will last for seven years, with an option to extend for a further three years.
Chris Fraser, managing director and Chief Executive Officer of Sirius, said: “We are continuing to make great progress in allocating our expected production f rom the York Potash Project and it is particularly exciting to sign our maiden animal feed offtake contract to confirm new market opportunities for POLY4.”