Drilling results confirm one of world’s finest potash seams in national park

York Potash, the company behind the plans to build the first mine of its kind in the UK for nearly 40 years, has unveiled the latest data from a second drilling site in the North York Moors National Park.

The results from the drilling at Ugglebarnby which finished in January have shown that there are two overlapping seams of high grade potash.

The data has shown that one seam at 4,460ft below the surface consists of 107ft of the high-grade target mineral – called polyhalite – whilst another seam at a depth of 5,036ft consists of a 113ft thickness.

The latest results back up initial tests which were conducted at a first site at Hawsker, near Robin Hood’s Bay, and released last year.

Chris Fraser, the managing director of Sirius Minerals Plc, the parent company of York Potash, said: “This news continues the strong results obtained from the drilling programme so far and confirms the world-class nature of the York Potash Project.

“Drilling at our next site (at Raikes Lane) is progressing well and we continue to push the project forward as quickly as possible.”

Sirius Minerals announced in October that a potash intersection had been discovered which is nearly four times as thick as had initially been hoped. Initial exploratory drilling at Hawsker pinpointed a 60ft-thick seam of high grade polyhalite – potassium sulphate – which is one of the world’s most extensive deposits. The mineral is an essential component of fertiliser and it had initially been hoped that a seam just 16ft thick would be uncovered.

It is hoped the potash mine, which is expected to cost as much as £2bn to build, will bring a massive employment boost with up to 5,000 jobs to the Yorkshire coast.

But opponents have voiced fears that a major mining operation would destroy one of the country’s finest landscapes, while there are also concerns over the amount of traffic that will be generated.

As many as 10 temporary drilling rigs are planned before a full planning application for the mine is submitted to the North York Moors National Park Authority later this year.

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