A PLANNING application for a potash mine that could create upto 5,000 jobs in the region could be submitted within a year after developers discovered the area contains more of the mineral than they previously hoped.

It emerged in January that York Potash Limited, owned by international mining conglomerate Sirius Minerals, was examining the possibility of sinking a mine along the North Yorkshire coast.

Yesterday the firm announced to the London Stock Exchange that detailed chemical analysis of potash found in the firm's first bore hole on the site showed there to be more of the substance and of better quality than previously hoped.

The analysis was carried out by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in Nottingham and a spokesman for Sirius said: "The importance of this is it is independent verification from the BGS.

"I think we were expecting good results but these results have exceeded expectations."

The firm, which last week appointed mine shaft specialist Alan Auld Engineering Ltd, to work with it in designing a minehead for when a location for the proposed mine is identified, expects to submit a planning application in the next 12 months.

There is increased global demand for potash, an integral component of fertilizers used for food production.

If the project gets the go ahead, about 1,500 jobs would be created during the development and construction phase, with about 1,000 permanent jobs at the mine once it is up and running.

The firm believes the project has the potential to create up to 5,000 jobs in total when indirect jobs connected with the mine, such as support services, are taken into consideration.

If a mine does become operational, it is expected it would produce agricultural potash for at least 50 years, meaning skilled jobs for generations to come.

Sirius, which has operations in Australia and the US, bought York Potash Limited, the site owner, in a £25m deal in January.

Chris Fraser, who founded York Potash last year, was appointed chief executive of Sirius as part of the deal.

Yesterday he said: "We're delighted with these outstanding results but there is obviously a still a long way to go and we're working hard to complete the other temporary drilling sites as quickly as possible.

"The York Potash Project is potentially one of the world's most significant projects and we must focus on developing the best possible proposals to share with the community next year."

The firm is undertaking a drilling programme between Whitby and Scarborough to extract sample cores of potash from around a mile underground.

The work is aimed at creating an accurate picture of the mineral resources before detailed proposals for the wider project can be developed.

The results from the bore hole close to Robin Hood's Bay, which were released yesterday, show 22.1 metres of high-grade polyhalite across three beds, the grade and thickness significantly exceeding the company's previous exploration targets.

The site, stretching out into the North Sea, is adjacent to the UK's only existing potash mine at Boulby, operated by Cleveland Potash Limited, which started operations in 1973.

North Yorkshire has the UK's only viable, workable deposits of potash and it is believed there could be billions of tonnes of it on the site.