logo-loader

UPDATE - Sirius Minerals and planners assess the "significant economic benefits" of potash project

Published: 20:08 07 Jul 2014 AEST

site

---ADDS SHARE PRICE AND BROKER COMMENT---

Sirius Minerals (LON:SXX) said it agreed an informal pre-application position statement with the North York Moors National Park Authority (NPA) in which the latter describes the York Potash Project as having the potential to bring “significant economic benefits”.

The authority will oversee the company’s planning application for the mine, which will now be formally submitted at the end of September alongside its mineral transport system application.

It is understood the majority of the mine planning application will be handed in on time in July, albeit in draft form.

Sirius's update indicated this mainly procedural change shouldn’t delay the start to construction, planned for the first quarter of next year, subject to gaining the relevant sign-offs.

In the position statement, meanwhile, the NPA acknowledges Sirius has done a great deal to mitigate the visual impact of the mine.

However, it said it does “require further comfort on the impacts during construction and possible impacts on the special qualities of the national park”.

Those who have followed the process closely will recognise that, while caveated, the document contains the first tangible positive statements from the NPA.

Managing director Chris Fraser said: “We have had productive and wide ranging pre-application engagement with the authority officers and advisers over the past nine to 12 months and aligning the submissions should make the process more straightforward and therefore is beneficial to all parties.

“We believe this is the most productive way forward, particularly as this doesn’t impact the overall project schedule.

“In the meantime, the common ground we have currently reached with the authority officers provides very clear guidance as to detail that the applications need to include at  the point of submission.”

The shares, up 12% in the last three months, fell just under a penny to 11.77p.

VSA Capital in a note to clients said: “The point of all this is to get as many shared goals and consensus opinions in place as possible prior to the overall mine development plan being presented for approval.

“If Sirius can handle the objections up front, or at least agree upon what the remaining objections are and a way forward to mitigate them toward an agreeable resolution, the more likely they will get permission to develop the mine this time round.”

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

9 hours, 35 minutes ago