12 Jan 2015 07:00
12 January 2015
Sirius Minerals Plc
Maiden animal feed take-or-pay offtake agreement
§ 50,000tpa take-or-pay agreement with a leading distributor of high quality mineral animal feed ingredients in North America, including option for an additional 25,000tpa
§ Long term supply agreement opening a new market for POLY4 in partnership with an established animal feed distributor
The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" the "Company") announce its maiden take-or-pay offtake agreement in the animal feed mineral supplement market.
The global mineral supplement market is estimated to be worth approximately US$2 billion annually. This market is rapidly growing at annual growth rates of between 4 and 8%. This growth is primarily being driven by the rising incomes in large population countries and the associated shift to diets that are higher in protein. This same fundamental demand driver is also resulting in increasing percentages of higher value fruit and vegetables in people's diets. Polyhalite, with its unique blend of multi-nutrients and lack of chlorides, is a valuable source of supply for these two rapidly expanding sectors of food production.
Testing results have confirmed the product's viability as a mineral feed additive where the nutrients contained in POLY4, which is the product name for polyhalite from the Company's proposed York Potash Project, provide essential minerals which promote optimal animal health and livestock production performance.
This seven year take-or-pay agreement, with an option to be extended by a further three years, is on a fixed price basis that is competitive with established products in the animal feed market. The volume commitment in the agreement is structured on a schedule to coincide with production from the York Potash Project rising to 50,000tpa from year 3 and has an option to be increased by an additional 25,000tpa.
Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, commented:
"We are continuing to make great progress in allocating our expected production from the York Potash Project and it is particularly exciting to sign our maiden animal feed offtake contract to confirm new market opportunities for POLY4."
For further information, please contact:
Sirius Minerals Plc Investor Relations
|
Email: ir@siriusminerals.com |
Tel: +44 845 524 0247 |
Joint Brokers Liberum Capital Limited |
Clayton Bush |
Tel: +44 20 3100 2222 |
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited (NOMAD) | Ken Fleming, Raj Khatri | Tel: +44 20 3037 2000 |
WH Ireland
| Adrian Hadden | Tel: +44 20 7220 1666 |
Media Enquiries Tavistock | Jos Simson, Mike Bartlett, Emily Fenton | Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 |
Warrant Trading Enquiries Liberum Capital Limited |
Simon Smith |
Tel: +44 20 3100 2171 |
About Sirius Minerals Plc
Sirius Minerals is a potash development company with properties in the United Kingdom (North Yorkshire) and the United States (North Dakota). Its primary focus is the development of the York Potash Project 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.