Sirius Minerals Regulatory News (SXX)

21 December 2015

Sirius Minerals Plc

Interim results for period to 30 September 2015

The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" or the "Company") announce the Interim Unaudited Consolidated Results for Sirius and its subsidiaries ("the Group") for the six-month period ended 30 September 2015.

Highlights

· Resolutions to grant planning permissions by local planning authorities considering applications for the key York Potash Project infrastructure, including the mine and mineral transport system, materials handling facility and supporting park and ride applications.

· Decision notices received for four of the five key applications, formally granting planning permission.

· Major upgrade to the take-or-pay offtake agreement with existing Fortune 500 US-based agri-business customer, with the base amount of polyhalite to be supplied tripled to 1.5 million tonnes per annum. The initial contract term is extended from five to seven years, with possible extension options for two additional five-year periods.

· Prequalification status received from Infrastructure UK, a unit within Her Majesty's Treasury, for consideration of a Treasury guarantee in relation to the York Potash Project.

Post-balance sheet events

· Appointment of J.P. Morgan Cazenove as joint corporate broker and Liberum Capital Limited, the Company's joint corporate broker, appointed as Nomad.

· Decision notice received for the remaining mine and mineral transport system application, formally granting planning permission.

· Expiry of the warrants previously issued to investors on 14 March 2014, a process which raised approximately £23.3m for general working capital purposes.

· Expiry of the Judicial Review periods for all key planning permissions, placing them beyond challenge.

Financials

· During the six-month period ended 30 September 2015 the Group made a consolidated loss of £4.7 million compared to a loss of £6.7 million for the same period last year.

· Cash resources at the end of September 2015 were £25.1 million compared to £27.4 million at 30 September 2014 and £26.6 million at 31 March 2015.

· The Group's net assets at 30 September 2015 were £153.4 million compared to £132.6 million at 30 September 2014 and £146.6 million at 31 March 2015.

Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, comments:

"It has been a transformational period for Sirius, during which time we have successfully secured the approvals for the key parts of the Project infrastructure, increased the level of customer contracts and advanced the financing strategy."

A short summary webcast has been uploaded to the Company website www.siriusminerals.com.

For further information, please contact:

About Sirius Minerals Plc

Sirius Minerals is the fertilizer development company focused on the development of the York Potash Project in the United Kingdom, which has the world's largest and highest grade deposit of polyhalite, a multi-nutrient form of potash containing potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium. 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 a sponsored ADR facility. Further information on the Company can be found at: www.siriusminerals.com.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Dear Shareholders,

The progress we have made during this period on securing the key approvals for the York Potash Project (the Project), increasing bankable customer contracts and developing the long-term financing strategy has been significant and hard-earned. In my view, they will prove to be both a defining part of the Company's history and the start of an even more exciting chapter ahead.

Sirius' success with the various key approvals for the Project has dominated the period. We received our first two approvals in April from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council (RCBC) for the mine and mineral transport system (MTS) and the materials handling facility (MHF). Next came the determination of the North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA) application for the mine and MTS.

The build up to the committee hearing and the meeting itself was keenly followed locally, nationally and internationally. It was a substantial moment of both relief and joy for our management team, staff and everyone associated with the Project after so much hard work when the NYMNPA endorsed the exceptional circumstances of the Project and resolved to grant the application. Having sat through the proceedings and aftermath of the decision I can say that the outpouring of support and good wishes from so many different stakeholders in the UK and around the world has been hugely gratifying for everyone associated with the Company.

This Project has always been about so much more than the substantial financial returns it can generate for our shareholders (many of whom are from the local region). It is about a Project that can deliver strong returns whilst creating jobs and prosperity in a region that desperately needs more opportunity. It is also about a mining and infrastructure Project that is uniquely sensitive to the environment and has not been done before. And it is about a British company set on breaking down the barriers to become a global leader in a product and industry that the world will rely upon to successfully feed its growing population. I know this is a key reason why we have so much support for what we are delivering and on behalf of our whole team I thank all of our supporters for their continued backing.

Despite the macro picture in the commodities sector currently being downbeat - with the valuations of the major mining firms suffering particularly - Sirius and its share price has performed extremely well. This is part due to the stage of the development cycle that we are in but more due to the underlying and long-term positive economics that underpin a product and Project like ours. I remain incredibly optimistic for our own future, even though there has also been downward pressure on potassium chloride (MOP) prices and some negative sentiment in the near term regarding the potash sector.

Price squeezes tend to root out the high-cost producers and leave the most competitive businesses very well placed. Our Project is targeting an extremely competitive operating cost structure due to the expected mining efficiency (1:1 ore to product ratio), we have simple low energy processing stages and we are in close proximity to a deep water port. The unique multi-nutrient nature of polyhalite (which we market as POLY4) is a key differentiator as the potassium content is not the sole price-determining factor. The other nutrients (sulphur, magnesium and calcium) also carry varying values from market to market. In addition our POLY4 product is typically benchmarked against sulphate of potash (SOP), the premium form of chloride-free potash, which has substantially increased its price premium to MOP.

The belief in our Project has been endorsed by our customers and this was demonstrated by our major North American offtake partner tripling its POLY4 supply agreement with us. The revised take-or-pay agreement now stands at 1.5 million tonnes per annum, extended to seven years from five, with possible extension options for two additional five-year periods. Naturally we couldn't be happier with the confidence that the counterparty, a major US-based Fortune 500 agri-business, has shown in the Company by further strengthening this relationship.

This agreement continues to demonstrate how we are breaking convention in the global potash market - where substantial, long-term sales contracts are not the norm. Customers continue to recognise the outstanding economic value of POLY4 and the ability to secure continuing supply that can deliver lasting success for both parties.

In July we welcomed two new non-executive directors to the Company. We were delighted to appoint Noel Harwerth and Jane Lodge to the board. These appointments gave the Company a greater percentage of independent directors on the board further strengthening corporate governance. I would like to thank outgoing board members Peter Woods and Chris Catlow, who both made valuable contributions during the early years of the development of the Company.

There have been a number of post balance sheet events to bring to your attention. These include receiving the approvals decision notice from the National Park Authority and this subsequently passing through any judicial review window unchallenged. In October there were a number of announcements relating to director dealing - including my own - as warrants from the 2014 fundraising were exercised. We also made changes to our advisory team, with existing broker Liberum Capital taking on our nominated advisor (Nomad) role and the appointment of J.P. Morgan Cazenove (JPM) as joint broker. As part of this change Macquarie agreed to step down as broker and Nomad. I want to thank the Macquarie team for their support over the last four years during important stages of the Company's growth and we look forward to opportunities to work with them again in the future.

During the six-month period ended 30 September 2015 the Group made a consolidated loss of £4.7 million compared to a loss of £6.7 million for the same period last year. Cash resources at the end of September 2015 were £25.1 million compared to £27.4 million at 30 September 2014 and £26.6 million at 31 March 2015.

The Group's net assets at 30 September 2015 were £153.4 million compared to £132.6 million at 30 September 2014 and £146.6 million at 31 March 2015.

The condensed interim unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the going concern assumption. However, the directors recognise that there are a number of material uncertainties inherent in the Project. The impact of these uncertainties on the directors' consideration of the going concern assumption is set out in note 1 to these financial statements.

The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group have not changed since the year end. The principal risks are exploration and development, reserves and resources estimates, mineral title risk, commodity price risk, liquidity risk, currency risk, permitting, community relations and competitor risk and operational and product risk. Detailed explanations of these principal risks can be found in the 2015 annual report.

The Company's board, management and finance team continue to be focussed on both the efficient management of our existing funds and the ongoing (and extensive) work to secure financing for the construction of our Project. We remain focussed on a range of options and the overall funding requirement can be delivered through a range of mechanisms, with debt funding likely to make up as much of the overall requirement as possible.

We look forward to progressing this and other options over the next year as we continue to advance our world-class Project.

Kind regards

Russell Scrimshaw

Chairman

21 December 2015

INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO SIRIUS MINERALS PLC

Report on the condensed consolidated financial statements

We have reviewed Sirius Minerals Plc's condensed consolidated financial statements (the "interim financial statements") in the interim report of Sirius Minerals Plc for the six-month period ended 30 September 2015. Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the interim financial statements are not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union and the AIM Rules for Companies.

Without modifying our conclusion on the interim financial statements, we have considered the adequacy of the disclosure made in note 1 to the financial statements concerning the Group's ability to continue as a going concern. The Group is involved in efforts to complete feasibility studies and secure long-term project finance for the York Potash Project, the outcome of which is uncertain. These conditions indicate the existence of material uncertainties which may cast significant doubt about the Group's ability to continue as a going concern. The Group financial statements do not include the adjustments that would result if the Group were unable to continue as a going concern.

The interim financial statements comprise:

· The condensed consolidated interim statement of financial position as at 30 September 2015;

· The condensed consolidated income statement and condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the period then ended;

· The condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the period then ended;

· The condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity for the period then ended; and

· The explanatory notes to the interim financial statements.

The interim financial statements included in the interim report have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting", as adopted by the European Union and the AIM Rules for Companies.

As disclosed in note 1 to the interim financial statements, the financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the full annual financial statements of the Group is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.

The interim report, including the interim financial statements, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies which require that the financial information must be presented and prepared in a form consistent with that which will be adopted in the Company's annual financial statements.

Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on the interim financial statements in the interim report based on our review. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the Company for the purpose of complying with the AIM Rules for Companies and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this conclusion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures.

A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and, consequently, does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

We have read the other information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the interim financial statements.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Chartered Accountants

Leeds

21 December 2015