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Sirius Minerals gets green light

The Yorkshire potash prospector has been given approval for its North York Moors project.
July 1, 2015

Four years of dogged persistence finally paid off for potash prospector Sirius Minerals (SXX) this week, after the company received approval for its polyhalite project in the North York Moors National Park.

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The park’s planning authority narrowly voted through Sirius' plans for the largest potash mine in the world, having decided the long-term economic benefits at a local and national level were "transformational", and outweighed the environmental harm caused by the construction. York Potash, the subsidiary of Sirius responsible for the project, says it will contribute 1,000 long-term skilled jobs in the local area, £233m in tax receipts and £1.2bn in annual exports.

Sirius must now publish a bankable feasibility study (BFS), outlining the colossal sums needed for the project to move ahead. As of September 2014, Sirius' cash pile stood at £27m, though a previous project study in 2012 put the cost to first production at $1.7bn.

The BFS will in turn inform the fundraising package, which could include a mixture of debt, equity or agreements with major miners. This week's news is likely to have been closely watched by the likes of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, both of which previously employed Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser as a strategic adviser.

For more context on what Sirius has planned, see our site visit video to the North York Moors project from 2014.