Woodsmith Mine

Woodsmith Mine
Artist's impression of the mine site[1]
Location
Woodsmith Mine
Location Sneatonthorpe
County North Yorkshire
Country England
Coordinates Coordinates: 54°25′55″N 0°37′30″W / 54.431882°N 0.625037°W / 54.431882; -0.625037
Production
Products Potash
Polyhalite
POLY-4
Production 20 million tonnes
Type Underground
Greatest depth 4,900 feet (1,500 m)
History
Opened 2017
Owner
Company Sirius Minerals
Website http://siriusminerals.com/

Woodsmith Mine is a deep potash and polyhalite mine located near to the hamlet of Sneatonthorpe, Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The venture was started by York Potash Ltd, which became a subsidiary of Sirius Minerals plc whose primary focus is the development of the polyhalite project. The project will mine the world’s largest deposit of polyhalite – a naturally occurring mineral.[2] Because the project would require mining to be undertaken in the North York Moors National Park, many objections were raised to the mine and the proposed conveyor that would be installed to transport the raw material offsite to a plant on Teesside 23 miles (37 km) away.

The mine is expected to have a life of 100 years and has been labelled the biggest mining project in Britain for decades; it twin shafts will be the deepest commercial mineshafts in Britain.

History

The initial proposal was forwarded from York Potash to the North York Moors National Park Authority in 2011. This enabled the Authority to allow test drilling at various sites along the coast between Whitby and Scarborough. The company decided to develop a site next to Doves Nest farm near to the hamlet of Sneatonthorpe.[3]

Sirius withdrew its initial planning application in 2013 to re-examine key elements, particularly the project’s environmental impact.[4] Plans were resubmitted in 2014 with notable changes including an underground system of conveyor belts to transport the dry mineral, instead of a slurry pipeline, and other mitigation efforts.[5] Originally, the transport methods for delivering the product from the mine were conveyor, pipeline and by rail on the Esk Valley line.[6]

The decision from members of the North York Moors National Park Authority to resolve to grant planning permission for the mine and mineral transport system, was made at a public meeting on 30 June 2015.[7] When complete, the Project would be among the largest mining projects ever built in the United Kingdom.[8]

Sirius intend to have the mine and associated tunnel operational by 2021,[9] with preferred bidder status on construction being announced in June 2016.[10]

Schematic of Woodsmith Mine operations

The project requires the company to construct two 1,500 m (4,900 ft) shafts to reach the 230 feet (70 m) mineral seam which includes a mineable area of around 25,200 hectares (62,000 acres).[7] The twin shafts have been labelled as the deepest commercial mineshafts in Britain.[11]

To minimise the amount of visible infrastructure within the North York Moors National Park, a protected area, the polyhalite will then be transported 23 miles (37 km) at an average depth of 820 feet (250 m) in an underground tunnel to the company’s processing plant at Teesside.[12] The underground tunnel will consist of two conveyors: the first will be 15 miles (24 km) long and the second will be 8 miles (13 km). There will be an interchange point between the two conveyors at Lockwood Beck, near Guisborough.[13]

After granulation and drying, the finished product – marketed by Sirius Minerals as POLY4 – will be exported from the nearby harbour facilities.[14] The mine will produce 20 million tonnes a year of polyhalite, potash and POLY4[10] and is expected to be in production for 100 years.[15]

In August 2017, the 4,900 feet (1,500 m) deep tunnels were being constructed on the site. The Times said that the project was the "biggest mining project Britain has seen in decades".[16]

Orders for the mineral have already been agreed with third-party distributors in America and South-East Asia to receive 1,500,000 tonnes (1,700,000 tons) and 750,000 tonnes (830,000 tons) respectively each year. In September 2018, Sirius Minerals revealed that had signed a seven-year deal with a Brazilian fertiliser distributor to export 2,500,000 tonnes (2,800,000 tons) per year to South America.[17] All mineral supplies will be delivered from a new harbour area on Teesside.[18][19] The company acquired a site adjacent to the defunct Redcar Steelworks site in December 2017, which will serve as the northern portal of the conveyor. The site will be known as Bran Sands with initial building taking place in 2019.[20] However, the site does not have satisfactory loading facilities for shipping, so in May 2018, Sirius signed an agreement with the South Tees Site Company, to option the site which lies 2.5 miles (4 km) from the Bran Sands site, but offers better access to the River Tees.[21]

Objections

Woodsmith Mine cairn with official opening date

Many groups and campaigners objected to the project. An open letter signed by 29 different groups, including the Caravan Club, the RSPB and the Campaign for National Parks, was sent to the national park authority, whose own internal report stated that the economic benefits of the mine did not outweigh the environmental damage it would cause.[22] Initially, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) lodged an objection to the mine as its use of dynamite blasting had the potential to cause damage to the sensitive equipment at RAF Fylingdales which is only 4 miles (6.4 km) south west of the mine head.[23] This objection was withdrawn when the company agreed to the MoD's conditions and monitoring of the mine's workings.[24]

However, some local people supported the venture. The farmer who works the land that will be adjacent to the minesite wrote to the NPA in support of the project stating

Please approve the application and stop the deteriorating living standards of the Whitby people. Stop the young moving out and plan to keep families together.

Another local man stated that there was nothing in the area other than pot washing or working in the local fish and chip restaurant.[7]

Naming and ground works

In February 2017, the project was given the name Woodsmith Mine in an unveiling by Andrew Percy MP, the Northern Powerhouse Minister.[25] The name of the mine is a portmanteau of the surnames of Peter Woods and Dr Frederick Smith, who were two of the original geologists on the project.[26] The mine head is situated on Doves Nest farm, a former beef farming site.[16]

Digging works at Woodsmith Mine

Ground works on the mine and initial building was due to start in April 2017[25] whilst preparatory work on the access roads (including building new filter lanes on the A171 road) was undertaken in February and March 2017.[27] In May 2017, Sirius minerals confirmed that construction work had officially started at the site with production of minerals starting in late 2021.[28]

In June 2018, work was started on the 23-mile (37 km) tunnel that would convey the polyhalite from the mine site to Teesside.[29] The tunnel was originally due to be 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter, but after the initial groundworks and with an enhanced understanding of the geological strata, this was changed to 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter with the increased lining thickness too.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "The questions you need answered on North Yorkshire's potash mine". York Press. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Chinese sign up for 500,000 tonnes of fertiliser from North Yorks potash mine". The Daily Telegraph. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "York Potash/Sirius Minerals Polyhalite Mine: North York Moors National Park". North York Moors National Park. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "North York Moors potash mine plans put back a year". BBC News. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "York Potash: £167m underground conveyor belt will mean more Teesside-based jobs". Teesside Gazette. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Potash prospects mean freight my return to Whitby". Modern Railways. Key Publishing. April 2011. p. 15. ISSN 0026-8356.
  7. 1 2 3 "North York Moors potash mine gets £1.7bn go-ahead". The Guardian. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sirius's Yorkshire mine plan gets boost as it secures Huaken deal". Financial Times. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "North York Moors potash mine ready by 2021, company says". BBC News. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 Snowden, Ros (2 June 2016). "York Potash mine chooses key contractors". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  11. ↑ Ashton, James (22 July 2018). "Questor: there's gold underneath North Yorkshire – and Sirius Minerals aims to extract it". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 July 2018. (Subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ Meakin, Rob (June 2017). "Polyhalite as an alternative potash source in Brazil" (PDF). conferences.ncl.ac.uk. Sirius Minerals. p. 3. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Price, Kelley (25 August 2017). "Sirius potash mine: Main construction to start within weeks". Gazette Live. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "York Potash project's Wilton material handling facility approved by Redcar & Cleveland Council". Teesside Gazette. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Yeomans, Jon (17 March 2016). "Sirius Minerals makes pitch for 100-year fertiliser mine beneath North Yorks park". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  16. 1 2 Leroux, Marcus (12 August 2017). "Sirius mines the moors to turn potash into gold". The Times (72300). p. 53. ISSN 0140-0460.
  17. 1 2 Snowden, Ros (18 September 2018). "Sirius in fertiliser deal with big player in Brazil". The Yorkshire Post. Business. p. 3. ISSN 0963-1496.
  18. ↑ Hugill, Steve (29 June 2017). "Sirius Minerals making "timely progress" on 1,000-job project - mine shaft sinking anticipated later this year". North Yorkshire Advertiser. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  19. ↑ Hamer, Alex (26 October 2017). "Sirius signs another offtake - Mining Journal". www.mining-journal.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  20. ↑ Jones, Sam (11 December 2017). "Sirius Minerals completes purchase of harbour facility". Whitby Gazette. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  21. ↑ Pagnamenta, Robin (21 May 2018). "Sirius sees fertile site atsteelworks". The Times (72540). p. 36. ISSN 0140-0460.
  22. ↑ "North York Moors potash mine rejection urged by campaign groups". BBC News. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "MoD objects to potash mine plans". Whitby Gazette. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "MoD to withdraw North Yorkshire potash mine objection". BBC News. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  25. 1 2 Jones, Sam (24 February 2017). "Minister unveils name of North Yorkshire Sirius Minerals mine". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "Naming ceremony for North Yorkshire potash mine". ITV News. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  27. ↑ Jones, Sam (28 March 2017). "Woodsmith Mine project on schedule". Whitby Gazette. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  28. ↑ Copeland, Alexa (21 May 2017). "Construction work starts at moors mine site". Darlington &Stockton Times (2017–19). p. 4. ISSN 2040-3933.
  29. ↑ Arnold, Stuart (29 June 2018). "Mining firm's tunnel vision now a reality". The Darlington & Stockton Times (26–2018). p. 2. ISSN 2516-5348.
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