North Dakota: Commencement of drilling

For immediate release: 9 November 2010

Sirius Minerals Plc

("Sirius" or the "Company")

North Dakota: Commencement of drilling

Further to the announcement of 19 October 2010, the Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTC: SRUXY), the potash mining group, are pleased to announce that drilling has commenced on its North Dakota property.

Through the drilling programme being carried out by Schlumberger Water Services USA Inc ("Schlumberger") and North Rim Exploration Ltd ("NREL") a single exploratory hole is being drilled to a total depth of approximately 8,990ft (approximately 2,740meters). The drill core will then be sent to NREL's core facility in Saskatoon for detailed core descriptions and geochemical sample selection. The samples will then be sent to and analysed at the Saskatchewan Research Council laboratory in Saskatoon. It is anticipated that the drilling, core logging and analysis will take approximately two months to complete.

Chris Catlow, Chairman of Sirius, commented:

"We are delighted that drilling is underway on our first project. We continue to work closely with the authorities in North Dakota to ensure potash mining can be progressed in a way that is both fully sensitive to the concerns of the local community in Burke County and commercially beneficial to the county and state as a whole. We believe potash mining can be a significant potential wealth creator for the region and look forward to updating all parties on our progress in the coming months."

Through Dakota Salts, Sirius presently holds in excess of 7,425 net mineral acres of exploration leases in the Williston Basin in North Dakota covering known potash and salt deposits. It also owns properties in Western Australia and Queensland.

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For further information, please contact:

Website: www.siriusminerals.com