Drilling pledge by potash company

Concerns had been voiced over the timing and scale of the drilling, which began in the North York Moors National Park during the height of the summer tourism season.

But the managing director and chief executive officer of Sirius, Chris France, has maintained that his company is working as quickly as possible to minimise disruption.

He added: “We’d like to thank everyone for their patience. Our teams are working as quickly as possible to complete the drilling and all the sites will be returned to their original state once we’ve finished.

“The results from the temporary drilling will allow us to plan the wider project and share these ideas with the local communities. We will continue to strive to deliver the very best project possible.”

The next phase of the drilling has begun at an agricultural field off Pasture Field Lane, to the south east of Ugglebarnby.

The drilling rig is one of two that are operating and the company has left a site at Hawsker where the first half of the work is now complete.

A second rig is due at the Hawsker site shortly, where it will begin extracting mineral cores. Up to 10 boreholes are due to be drilled between Whitby and Scarborough to help better understand the geological conditions underground.

Once the work is complete, Sirius officials will be able to establish further details such as mine designs and possible locations.

Sirius Minerals, which also oversees projects in Australia and the US, has secured the mineral rights for more than 150,000 acres of land between Whitby and Scarborough as it looks to establish the potash operation. The mineral is an essential component of fertiliser.