9 Sep 2011 07:00
For immediate release: 9 SEPTEMBER 2011
Sirius Minerals Plc
("Sirius" or the "Company")
CSIRO Study
The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY), the globally diversified potash development group, are pleased to announce that it has engaged Australia's leading research institute, the Commonwealth Industrial and Scientific Research Organisation ("CSIRO"), in a research project that will explore the application of new and potentially more accurate methods for potash resource analysis and estimation.
Sirius and CSIRO hope that this project will demonstrate the applicability of these new techniques, originally developed for oil and gas exploration, to potash exploration. If successful, this project will enable Sirius to draw more accurate conclusions from seismic exploration data and potentially reduce the cost of exploration for all of its potash projects.
The most common techniques used for seismic analysis were designed when computer hardware was older and much slower. CSIRO's techniques take advantage of modern processing power to run much more intensive calculations. Referred to as "uncertainty quantification", these methods are better able to factor in the inherent uncertainty in seismic analysis.
The initial data set for the project is the seismic data from Sirius' Canning Basin project. This will have the dual purpose of proving that the new methods are potentially applicable to potash while also potentially advancing the analysis and understanding of Sirius' West Australian assets. Other project data will be considered as the project progresses, including data from York Potash, Dakota Salts, and Adavale.
Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, said:
"If we can improve the value we get from seismic analysis we can potentially significantly reduce the amount of drilling we need to undertake during project development. Ultimately, we hope to be able to use these exciting modern techniques for all of our future potash exploration.
"By collaborating with CSIRO, Sirius can potentially benefit from more leading-edge technologies normally only available to companies with large, mature R&D programmes."
The CSIRO is Australia's national science agency, aiming to tackle major national challenges through large scale, multi-disciplinary R&D and technology transfer, with a staff of 6000, and a science budget of A$1.4bn annually. CSIRO has a long history of undertaking world class research in the resources and minerals domain and works with many SME and global companies across the exploration, extraction and minerals processing industries.
For further information, please contact:
Sirius Minerals Plc | |||
Chris Fraser(MD & CEO) | Tel: +44 7582 711 382 or +61 404 073 288 | Andrew Lindsay(FD & CFO) | Tel: +44 20 3327 3660 |
NOMAD | Joint Brokers | Media Enquiries | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | Liberum Capital Limited | XCAP Securities Plc | Gth Media Relations |
Roland Cornish, James Biddle | Michael Rawlinson, Clayton Bush | John Grant, Karen Kelly, Parimal Kumar | Toby Hall, Christian Pickel |
Tel: +44 20 7628 3396 | Tel: + 44 20 3100 2222 | Tel: +44 20 7101 7070 | Tel: + 44 20 3103 3903 |
About Sirius Minerals Plc
Sirius Minerals is a globally diversified potash development company. Its primary focus is to bring on stream major potash mining facilities through the acquisition and development of projects overlying recognised potash deposits. Today it holds properties in the United Kingdom (North Yorkshire), the United States (North Dakota), and Australia (Queensland and Western Australia).
The Company is additionally progressing ongoing Innovation initiatives into the secondary uses of salt and potash beds for energy storage and carbon dioxide sequestration.
Incorporated in 2003, Sirius Minerals' shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. Its shares are also traded in the United States on the OTCQX through the use of a sponsored ADR facility. Further information on the Company can be found at www.siriusminerals.com.