Plans go in for world’s biggest potash mine in North York Moors

A MINERAL mining company has submitted a planning application to mine what are thought to be the largest deposits of potash in the world in a national park in Yorkshire.
An aerial view of the potash siteAn aerial view of the potash site
An aerial view of the potash site

Sirius Minerals want to build the mine on a site near Whitby, within the North York Moors National Park.

The firm says the planned York Potash Project will be unobtrusive and lead to the creation of more than 1,000 jobs.

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Sirius wants to build on the site, near the village of Sneaton, to access 1.3 billion tonnes of polyhalite discovered below the Yorkshire coastline.

Geologists believe this is the world’s biggest and best quality supply of the valuable mineral.

The firm says the mine would generate more than 1,000 direct jobs at full production and thousands of indirect jobs in the support and supply industries. It also said it would create up to 1,800 jobs during construction.

Sirius Minerals confirmed to the Stock Exchange it has submitted an application for planning permission to the North Yorks Moors National Park Authority.

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Chris Fraser, managing director and chief executive of Sirius Minerals, said: “The York Potash Project will deliver an unrivalled level of investment for North Yorkshire, creating significant new jobs and improving local skills for generations to come.

“We have been extremely grateful for the wide-ranging support received during our extensive pre-application public consultations.

“A huge amount of technical work and studies have gone into the application and we believe that we have both put forward a robust planning case and set a new benchmark for sensitive design in the mining industry.”

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