Sirius Minerals Plc
Public | |
Traded as | (AIM: SXX) |
Industry | |
Founded | 2003 |
Key people | Chris Fraser (managing director and CEO) |
Products |
|
Revenue | £0.00 (GBP) |
£0.00 (GBP) | |
Website | www.siriusminerals.com |
Footnotes / references [1] |
Sirius Minerals Plc is a fertilizer development company based in the United Kingdom, quoted on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM: SXX). The Company’s stated focus is the development of its North Yorkshire polyhalite project[1] which aims to exploit the world’s largest deposit of polyhalite,[4] a type of potash.
The company plans to create a mine three miles south of Whitby[5] and an underground conveyor system to transport the mineral from the mine site to a materials handling facility at Teesside almost 23 miles away.[2]
The area of interest is located on the Yorkshire coast, mostly within the North York Moors National Park. The mineral seam lies 1,500 metres below the surface,[6] covering an area of approximately 796 square kilometers (around 271 square kilometers onshore and 535 square kilometers offshore).[1]
Operations
Following approval from the North York Moors National Park Authority in June 2015,[7] the AIM-listed company has stated it will seek financing in order to begin construction.[6]
Definitive Feasibility Study[8]
The company announced the material findings of the project’s Definitive Feasibility Study on Thursday 17 March 2016. In summary:
- DFS defines framework for production capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") with initial installed capacity of 10Mtpa
- Project net present value ("NPV") of US$15 billion today at a 10% discount rate
- Project NPV rising to US$27 billion upon commencement of production
- Project after-tax debt-free internal rate of return ("IRR") of 26%
- Annual operational EBITDA ranging between US$1 and 3 billion through various volume and price outcomes
- High margin business model with average cash operating costs estimated at US$27.2 per tonne, delivering industry leading cash margins of 70 to 85%
- Two stage financing plan with stage 1 comprising US$1.63 billion and stage 2 comprising US$1.93 billion (total US$3.56 billion) for installation of 10Mtpa capacity
- Funding plans well developed to deliver tailored financing package
- First product expected in 2021 followed by completion of fit out and ramp-up with 10Mtpa rate anticipated in 2023
The company has stated that the project, at full production capacity, 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
- 2,500 direct and indirect production jobs
- Over 2,000 jobs during construction
References
- 1 2 3 "Sirius Minerals Plc: Business Profile". Financial Times. 20 January 2016.
- 1 2 "North York Moors potash mine gets £1.7bn go-ahead". The Guardian. 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "York Potash jobs: How to register interest for thousands of roles at £2bn mine". Teesside Gazette. 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "Chinese sign up for 500,000 tonnes of fertiliser from North Yorks potash mine". The Daily Telegraph. 24 December 2015.
- ↑ "Sirius confirms North Yorkshire potash mine location". BBC News. 3 September 2012.
- 1 2 "Stars are aligning for Sirius". The Times. 23 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sirius Minerals gets go ahead for potash mine in Yorkshire Moors". Financial Times. 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "DFS defines world-class fertilizer business". Investis. 17 March 2016.