Potash mine plans queried by rival firm

Cleveland Potash has announced development plans for its Boulby site on the North Yorkshire border with East Cleveland which would extend operations and effectively create a new mine for the next 40 years. The company has said it expects its workforce will increase by about 270 to more than 1,220 by the end of 2015.

But Cleveland Potash has raised concerns over the viability of proposals to create another potash mine close to the village of Sneaton, near Whitby, in the North York Moors. A planning application for the Sneaton scheme drawn up by a separate firm, York Potash, is due to be considered by the North York Moors National Park Authority in July.

While Cleveland Potash acknowledged the economic benefits of the proposed mine could see up to 1,000 jobs created, it refuted claims by York Potash that the UK currently has an inadequate supply of the mineral, a key component in fertiliser.

Cleveland Potash claimed the rival scheme is “extremely ambitious” and said it had “considerable doubts” over pioneering construction techniques which are proposed to minimise the environmental impact on the national park, with the majority of the mine buildings situated below ground.

But a York Potash spokesman said: “The mine will focus on different forms of potash because Boulby is predominately a traditional potassium chloride mine, whereas the York Potash Project focuses on the unique multi-nutrient ore, polyhalite, which contains potassium, magnesium, sulphur and calcium. The development of both resources is good for local jobs, good for balance of payments and good for the UK as a whole.”