1 Nov 2011 07:00
1 November 2011
Sirius Minerals Plc
("Sirius" or the "Company")
UK Government Grant
§ Sirius awarded up to £2.8 million from Regional Growth Fund
§ Funding to support the development of a Global Centre of Applied Innovation in Geosciences
The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY), the globally diversified potash development group, are pleased to announce that the Company has been provisionally awarded up to £2.8 million from the Government's Regional Growth Fund to develop a world-leading geosciences centre (the "Centre").
The funding, which is subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence, was announced yesterday by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills ("BIS") as part of its funding to stimulate economic growth. The proposed Centre is expected to create highly-skilled jobs in scientific and geological fields.
The aim of the Centre will be to accelerate the latest technological advances in mineral exploration, extraction, and geosciences. Sirius will look to partner and collaborate with several UK and international universities and research organisations to build a "living laboratory" around the York Potash Project. The Centre will allow current and future geoscientists to develop new skills and receive training on cutting-edge, innovative technologies. The long-term vision for the Centre is to establish the facility as an independent developer of advanced geoscience technologies and services for the global mining industry.
The immediate focus of the Centre and the grant funding is to help Sirius bring a lot of its global research and development activities to North Yorkshire to support and accelerate the technical work and innovations involved in the development of the York Potash Project.
Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius Minerals said:
"With global population growth putting greater pressure on the world's natural resources, research and innovation into how to extract hard-to-reach minerals will become increasingly important. This Centre will help Sirius to have access to the highly-skilled talent that will be necessary to plan, build and operate our mines of the future.
"The York Potash Project provides an ideal platform to develop North Yorkshire's and the UK's capabilities in these highly technical fields. Without this initiative this work would have to be completed elsewhere in the world. This enabling support from the UK Government can help us create and retain these skills in North Yorkshire for the long term.
"By working with leading universities and vocational colleges we believe we can train a future generation of geoscientists that can help to put North Yorkshire on the global map for cutting-edge research.
"The York Potash Project over time is expected to generate around 1,000 direct jobs and up to a further 4,000 indirect jobs as part of the plan to provide the UK with a long-term secure supply of potash. The Centre is an example of the types of flow-on benefits a large scale innovative project like York Potash can bring when done in the right way with the proactive support of the Government."
The funding is awarded based on evidence of regional job and value creation, and the amount and timing of all Regional Growth Fund awards is subject to a due diligence review, which will commence in the coming weeks.
For further information, please contact:
Sirius Minerals Plc | |||
Chris Fraser(MD & CEO) | Tel: +44 7582711382 or +61 404 073 288 | Andrew Lindsay(FD & CFO) | Tel: +44 20 3327 3661 |
NOMAD/ Joint Broker | Joint Brokers | Media Enquiries |
Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited | Liberum Capital Limited | Gth Media Relations |
Steve Baldwin, Dan Iacopetti
| Michael Rawlinson, Clayton Bush | Toby Hall, Suzanne Johnson Walsh |
Tel: +44 20 3037 2000 | Tel: + 44 20 3100 2222 | 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.