Sirius Minerals plc was a

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

development company based in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

until it was acquired by Anglo American in March 2020.

History

Founded in 2003, the company initially focused on exploring the potential for

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

mining in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. However, after abandoning attempts at overseas exploration in February 2012 and following approval from the North York Moors National Park Authority in June 2015, the then AIM-listed company stated that it would seek financing in order to begin construction at the

Woodsmith Mine Woodsmith Mine is a deep potash and polyhalite mine located near to the hamlet of Sneatonthorpe, Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The venture was started by York Potash Ltd, which became a subsidiary of Sirius Minerals plc whose primary focus ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. It was admitted to the main market in April 2017. In September 2019 the Woodsmith Mine project was in doubt when the company shelved a £400 million

junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...

sale, citing a lack of government support and

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

uncertainty. 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. In January 2020 Anglo American confirmed it was considering making a bid to buy Sirius, 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. Sirius advised shareholders that if the offer was rejected then the company could face

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

within weeks. Subject to approval by at least 75% of Sirius shareholders, the deal was expected to become effective by 31 March 2020. The sale was approved by shareholders on 4 March 2020.

Operations

The Company’s stated focus is the development of its North Yorkshire polyhalite project which aims to exploit the world’s largest deposit of

polyhalite Polyhalite is an evaporite mineral, a hydrated sulfate of potassium, calcium and magnesium with formula: . Polyhalite crystallizes in the triclinic system, although crystals are very rare. The normal habit is massive to fibrous. It is typically co ...

, a type of potash. The company plans to create a mine three miles south of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and an underground conveyor system to transport the mineral from the mine site to a materials handling facility at

Teesside Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Historically a hub for heavy manu ...

, away. The area of interest is located on the Yorkshire coast, mostly within the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. The mineral seam lies below the surface, covering an area of approximately , around onshore and offshore. 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

www.siriusminerals.com
Fertiliser companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in the Borough of Scarborough Mining companies of the United Kingdom