DECISION day for a giant fertiliser mine on the North York Moors is looming closer – and if approved work could get underway this year.

Sirius Minerals, the firm behind the huge 1,000-job York Potash Project, expects to find out whether it can go ahead with its scheme in just six weeks’ time.

If approval is given, the mining company expects to start tapping the City for £600m of finance for the huge mine within weeks.

Funding for the project – which is expected to eventually cost around £1.5bn in total - would come in the form of a mixture of bonds, straight bank debt and possibly private equity, according to Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser.

“The plan is now that we will be in a position to start work on the project before the end of the year if we get approvals,” he said.

The project would see the development of one of the world’s largest polyhalite mines near Whitby.

The mineral is a type of potash used to make fertiliser and the planned mine has met fierce opposition from many because of its position in the spectacular landscape.

Sirius claims that as well as job creation, the scheme could ultimately reduce the UK’s trade deficit by as much as four per cent.

However the company first needs to win approval at a special meeting of the North York Moors National Park’s planning committee on June 30.

The meeting will be held at Sneaton Castle, near Whitby, and so many people are expected to want to attend that the proceedings will also be relayed onto a screen in an adjacent room, with places being allocated on a first come, first served basis.

To address environmental concerns, much of the project’s infrastructure would be underground and the project, if given the go-ahead, could take as long as five years to complete – although the size of the polyhalite deposit would see it in operation for an indefinite period of time.

The company predicts that it could be exporting as much as 13m tonnes of fertiliser a year from the site.