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Sirius Minerals plc
Company typePublic
LSE: SXX
Industry
Founded2003
Key people
Russell Scrimshaw (chairman)
Chris Fraser (CEO)
Products
Revenue£nil (2018)[1]
£(24.2) million (2018)[1]
£(12.5) million (2018)[1]
Websitesiriusminerals.com
Proposed mine, mineral transport system and Teesside plant[2]
Project area of interest[3]

Sirius Minerals plc was a fertilizer development company based in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Anglo American in March 2020.

History

Founded in 2003, the company initially focused on exploring the potential for potash mining in North Dakota.[4] However, after abandoning attempts at overseas exploration in February 2012[4] and following approval from the North York Moors National Park Authority in June 2015,[5] the then AIM-listed company stated that it would seek financing in order to begin construction at the Woodsmith Mine in North Yorkshire.[6] It was admitted to the main market in April 2017.[7]

In September 2019 the Woodsmith Mine project was in doubt when the company shelved a £400 million junk bond sale, citing a lack of government support and Brexit uncertainty.[8] In November 2019 the company announced that it was in talks with potential investors to raise $600 million needed to fund the first phase of the development.[9]

In January 2020 Anglo American confirmed it was considering making a bid to buy Sirius,[10] making a 5.5p per share offer to buy the project for £400m. In salvaging the financially troubled project, Anglo American envisages spending around £230m to keep construction going through to at least 2022.[11] Sirius advised shareholders that if the offer was rejected then the company could face administration within weeks.[12][13] Subject to approval by at least 75% of Sirius shareholders, the deal was expected to become effective by 31 March 2020.[14] The sale was approved by shareholders on 4 March 2020.[15]

Operations

The Company’s stated focus is the development of its North Yorkshire polyhalite project[16] which aims to exploit the world’s largest deposit of polyhalite, a type of potash.[17] The company plans to create a mine three miles south of Whitby[18] and an underground conveyor system to transport the mineral from the mine site to a materials handling facility at Teesside, 36 km (22 mi) away.[2] The area of interest is located on the Yorkshire coast, mostly within the North York Moors National Park. The mineral seam lies 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) below the surface,[6] covering an area of approximately 796 km2 (307 sq mi), around 271 km2 (105 sq mi) onshore and 535 km2 (207 sq mi) offshore.[16]

The company announced the material findings of the project's definitive feasibility study on 17 March 2016. In summary it proposes a framework for production capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") with initial installed capacity of 10Mtpa. This will deliver a £2.3 billion annual contribution to the UK's GDP, £2.5 billion of annual exports which represents a 7% decrease in the UK's trade deficit and 2,500 direct and indirect production jobs as well as over 2,000 jobs during construction.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Report & Accounts 2018". Sirius Minerals. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "North York Moors potash mine gets £1.7bn go-ahead". The Guardian. 30 June 2015.
  3. ^ "York Potash jobs: How to register interest for thousands of roles at £2bn mine". Teesside Gazette. 1 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b "ND potash deposits not as promising as thought". Bismarck Tribune. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Sirius Minerals gets go ahead for potash mine in Yorkshire Moors". Financial Times. 30 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Stars are aligning for Sirius". The Times. 23 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Is Sirius Minerals plc's 50% rally set to continue?". Motley Fool. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  8. ^ Davies, Rob; Kollewe, Julia (17 September 2019). "Plan for huge Yorkshire mine in doubt as firm pulls £400m bond sale". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  9. ^ Ambrose, Jullian (11 November 2019). "North York Moors mine plan could be rescued by £465m investment". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Whitby Potash Mine Owner Sirius Minerals Could be Sold". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 8 January 2020.
  11. ^ Morby, Aaron (20 January 2020). "Anglo American commits to saving £2.5bn potash mine project". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Agreement Reached For Takeover Of Whitby Potash Mine". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 2020-01-20.
  13. ^ "Offer For Whitby Potash Mine 'Fair' And 'Provides Certainty'". Yorkshire Coast Radio. 2020-02-20.
  14. ^ O'Connor, Rob (20 January 2020). "Sirius Minerals agrees £405m deal to save £3bn mine project from collapse". Infrastructure Intelligence. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  15. ^ Morby, Aaron (4 March 2020). "Anglo American seals potash mine project takeover". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Sirius Minerals Plc: Business Profile". Financial Times. 20 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Chinese sign up for 500,000 tonnes of fertiliser from North Yorks potash mine". The Daily Telegraph. 24 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Sirius confirms North Yorkshire potash mine location". BBC News. 3 September 2012.
  19. ^ "DFS defines world-class fertilizer business". Investis. 17 March 2016.
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