ROADWORKS have started on a scheme officials say will help deliver a multi-billion pound fertiliser mine.

North Yorkshire County Council says Balfour Beatty is installing a new junction at Mayfield Road, in Whitby.

The improvements form part of Sirius Minerals’ potash mine plans, with the council saying the company is contributing £400,000 towards the £705,000 improvements.

Sirius has permission to build its York Potash Project on the outskirts of Whitby, which bosses say has the potential to create and support thousands of jobs by extracting up to 20 million tonnes of the multi-nutrient mineral polyhalite every year.

Bosses say operations could start in 2021.

The council said: “The planning permission for Sirius’ new mine requires the junction to be improved.”

Last month, Sirius released a definitive feasibility study (DFS), wherein bosses said they will target earnings, before taxes and interest, of up to £2bn once the mine is fully operational, adding they want to raise £2.4bn to fund the project through two stages.

Interested parties are now digesting the figures ahead of putting forward potential backing.

Chris Fraser, Sirius’ managing director and chief executive, said he expects the mine to produce polyhalite at $30 a tonne and sell it for potentially $200 a tonne.

He told The Northern Echo: “We now go back to those who have visited the project and give them the real detail so they can comb through it and go to their investment committees and boards.

“First product is expected in 2021 (but) the work doesn’t start until the funding is there.”

Sirius will sink shafts at the former Doves Nest Farm, underneath the North York Moors National Park, to extract polyhalite.

The mineral will then be transported via conveyor belt to a handling site at Wilton, near Redcar, before being exported from a harbour, which is planned for Bran Sands, on the mouth of the River Tees.

Sirius already has a number of supply agreements for York Potash, including a deal with a US-based firm to annually dispatch 1.5 million tonnes for seven years, which could be extended further across two five-year periods.