Time to get Sirius: contractors announced for UK Potash mine

Sirius minerals has announced two preferred contractors for the development of its UK based polyhalite project.

AMC UK, a joint venture between Thyssen Group and Redpath Group, and Hochtief Murphy Joint Venture will work on both the mine site development and mineral transport system development.

The UK based AMC is a global leader in shaft sinking in the potash sector and will be working on the development of all mine shaft construction at the site and the shaft construction of the mineral transport system (MTS).

Hochtief Murphy Joint Venture will be working on the design and build of the MTS tunnel to linke the mine with the materials handling facility.

Chris Fraser, CEO of Sirius Minerals, said: "This is the culmination of a huge amount of work by both the successful bidders and those that have been unsuccessful and we thank all of the groups involved for their efforts.”

“We are delighted to now be moving forward with our selected partners towards the implementation of the project." He added.

The potash mine will employ over 1,000 long term workers at full production and a further 1,500 workers indirectly. The project is expected to deliver a huge boost to the north of England and will have a value of over £10bn, rising to £19bn when production starts.

At full production the mine's annual contribution to UK GDP could be up to £2.3bn.

It is expected that the mine will produce 20 million tonnes of potash a year and production is scheduled to start in 2021.

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