Good RNS from SXX, but shares are now dead money until Sept and DFS in Q4 2015. Am expecting slow decline in SP in between hand as proactive money moves elsewhere for time being.

A key factor will be debt and project financing for the Project; again to be published end of 2015 or into Q1- 2016.

No doubt great potential for 2016 onwards investors, but I have now taken profits. Will monitor and review once SP has bottomed out.

IMO
DYOR
HAb

I agree HA. My earier post "Think I will wait awhile" not so daft after all.....though derided by some!!! (well, one actually)!

From yesterday's Sunday Telegraph

By Andrew Critchlow7:53PM BST 11 Jul 2015 Comments17 Comments
Sirius Minerals has appointed two investment banks to begin preparations for a £2bn fundraising to build the UK’s largest operating mine in North Yorkshire.
Sirius plans to raise the financing for its controversial proposed potash mine in the North York Moors National Park in two phases over the next 18 months as it steps up efforts to market the fertiliser that will be eventually produced for overseas customers.
The move comes weeks after Sirius won approval from the park authority to move ahead with the scheme near Whitby.
Moelis is advising the company on the first phase of the financing which aims to raise around £650m mainly through a mixture of development equity and structured debt.
Sirius has said that a number of cornerstone investors are already doing due diligence on the scheme following its success in gaining approval to proceed.
“Our plan is to have the first phase of financing in place by the end of the final quarter of next year,” said Chris Fraser, Sirius Minerals chief executive.
The remaining £1.3bn of the financing will come in the lower-risk second phase by which time major tunnelling works are expected to have been completed.
SocGen has been lead adviser to Sirius on this phase of the project, which may change subject to the completion of a detailed feasibility study on the scope of the project, which is due to be completed by next year. It is thought the French bank could also participate in this stage of the financing.
The mine will cost around £1.5bn to build and is expected to produce something in the region of 13m tons per year of polyhalite, a type of potash used as fertiliser.
Once complete, the mine will make York Portash – a subsidiary of Sirius – one of the world’s biggest producers of the mineral.
• Ian McVeigh: Sirius mine decision highlights need for Government to take planning lead
Mr Fraser said that the company has already received approaches from government-backed export credit agencies hoping to support equipment suppliers to the project, and has held talks with Infrastructure UK to back the scheme, which will bring thousands of jobs to the region.
Sirius estimates that the mine will boost the economy of North Yorkshire by up to 10pc and generate around £1.2bn per year in export revenue for the British economy.
In order to minimise the environmental impact of the mine, Sirius plans to excavate a 23-mile long tunnel that will link the project’s main site near the village of Seamer with the port at the Wilton petrochemicals site on Teesside.
A major test for the scheme will be to secure more deals for the polyhalite, which is largely untested in the fertiliser market. The resource contains a lower quantity of potassium than conventional potash.
“We already have various levels of commitments from customers,” said Mr Fraser.

Also in yesterday's Telegraph

By Ian McVeigh5:00PM BST 11 Jul 2015Comments5 Comments
From the moment the Davies report recommending the expansion of Heathrow landed on the PM’s desk, the issue of planning was set to take centre stage.
One of the great trends of modern business has been outsourcing. Less discussed has been the tendency of successive governments to outsource the business of governing. Nowhere is this more visible than in the planning process.
With this in mind, three cheers for the brave members of the North York Moors National Park Planning Authority who voted 8-7 in favour of the decision to allow mining group Sirius Minerals to develop a facility to mine potash under the moors.
The question is, should they have ever been landed with a decision of such national importance, with the Government almost nowhere to be seen?
Their CVs, on the authority website, don’t tell us how long they have been on the committee and so one can only wonder whether, when they signed up, they realised they would be deciding on a highly technical $2.5bn (£1.6bn) project with a mine life of over 50 years, rather than extensions to the car parking at Castle Howard.
A number of our funds have been holding Sirius Mining since 2011. We, along with others, subscribed to the many rounds of funding since the project started. Certainly we can’t be accused of short-termism. The project is unlikely to show an operating profit until 2019 and the £130m raised to date is but a fraction of what will be needed.
The potential benefits are substantial. The polyhalite Sirius will mine produces the raw material for high-grade natural fertiliser in a world facing an increasing shortage of arable land. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN estimates that between 1970 and 2050 the amount of arable land per head of the world’s population will have decreased 60pc, reflecting population growth.
Tests prove that, across a wide range of crops including tea in China, polyhalite can increase yields by 10pc to 20pc.

SXX now have a 'cunning plan' to develop the North Yorkshire Potash mine. But although they have given an approx time frame of 18 mths for the project mineral production, the two stage debt financing will not compete DD until in Q1 2016, after which the high risk / high debt cost phase of tunnelling and shaft penetration will start. How long will it take to dig a 23 mile tunnel and optimise production?

Given that the long term financings of the project will be on a revenue base which are expected to show profit in 2019, how will SXX lower quality potash product compete in an untested market?

Difficult to predict near term forward SP, but expect there will be much surfing to be done as RNS milestones cheer PIs.

I remain a supporter of the SXX project and intend to buy back in once the project finance is agreed.

IMO
DYOR
HAb

I think the main point of the second article, above, is a major key here to what is to follow. That is of course more government support and involvement in projects of this nature. It is important to get that backing and not leave these decisions just to local councillors.

Approvals update

The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" or the "Company") provide a procedural update on the approvals process for the York Potash Project ("the Project").

The Company has been notified by the relevant local authorities that Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has chosen not to 'call-in' the Project planning applications. As a result, there will be no need for a public inquiry into the applications.

The local planning authorities can proceed with finalising the remaining issues (as detailed in the announcement of 10 July 2015) and therefore have no other barrier to issuing the decisions notices, following previous positive resolutions to grant by each authority.

The decisions are for the mine and mineral transport system applications to both the North York Moors National Park Authority and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council ("RCBC"), for the materials handling facility from RCBC, and for the temporary construction accommodation and a park and ride facility from Scarborough Borough Council.

Sirius Minerals Plc

Approvals update

The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" or the "Company") provide a procedural update on the approvals process for the York Potash Project ("the Project").

The Company has been notified by the relevant local authorities that Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has chosen not to 'call-in' the Project planning applications. As a result, there will be no need for a public inquiry into the applications.

The local planning authorities can proceed with finalising the remaining issues (as detailed in the announcement of 10 July 2015) and therefore have no other barrier to issuing the decisions notices, following previous positive resolutions to grant by each authority.

The decisions are for the mine and mineral transport system applications to both the North York Moors National Park Authority and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council ("RCBC"), for the materials handling facility from RCBC, and for the temporary construction accommodation and a park and ride facility from Scarborough Borough Council.

Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, comments:

"This is yet another positive step forward on our pathway to developing the Project and increasing shareholder value."

Liberum Capital Buy 18.38 - 38.00 Reiterates

Some way to go then!!! I suppose they didn't mention any kind of time frame?

They haven't as yet received any momentum whatever from the approval.process. One might be forgiven for thinking things can only improve.
I thought that 29 was the given target not 38

Look here.

Financial results for the year ended 31 March 2015

Key highlights

· Take-or-pay offtake agreement with large Central American fertilizer distributor for 250,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite, ramping up over five years.

· Take-or-pay offtake agreement with a leading South American fertilizer distributor for 300,000 tonnes per annum over seven years.

· 500,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite under one memorandum of understanding.

· 396,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite under letters of intent.

· Memorandum of Understanding signed with Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture in Tanzania, supporting collaboration on research on polyhalite for the introduction of polyhalite into Tanzania.

· Verification that polyhalite has nutritional benefits for animals and maiden animal feed take-or-pay offtake agreement for a long term supply of 50,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite.

· Range of positive crop study results demonstrating the value of polyhalite on crops of commercial significance through field trials across the globe announced in agronomy updates and webcasts.

· Appointment of new Group Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Staley.

· Oversubscribed share placing raising £15 million.

· Community engagement showed high levels of public support with 98% of people in favour of the York Potash Project ("the Project").

· Planning approval submissions made for the York Potash Project.



Post balance sheet events

· Successful resolutions to grant planning permissions for key approvals required to develop the Project, including the mine and mineral transport system, the materials handling facility and the temporary construction park and ride facility.

· The proposed development consent order for Harbour Facilities at Teesside has been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate. A final decision is due to be made by the Secretary of State for Transport no later than summer 2016.

· Noel Harwerth and Jane Lodge appointed to the Board as independent non-executive directors with Chris Catlow and Peter Woods stepping down.



Financials

The Group's year-end cash and cash equivalents position as at 31 March 2015 was £26.6 million (2014: £48.4 million). The Group's loss for the year ended 31 March 2015 was £10.0 million (2014: £8.0 million).

Annual Report and Accounts

The Annual Report and Accounts have now been published on the Company's website: www.siriusminerals.com. The Annual Report and Accounts will also be posted to shareholders shortly.

Liberum Capital Buy 17.25 16.75 38.00 38.00 Reiterates

The Capital Group Companies, Inc. > 11%

The Next Boom - Agriculture

A 20mtpa output based on just potassium alone, would put Sirius as the 3rd largest fertilizer producer in the world and the biggest potassium fertilizer company. See chart below;

http://www.potashcorp.com/overview/introduction/our-nutrients/worlds-10-largest-fertilizer-companies

This is definitely the right sector to be invested in right now, plus in one of the best companies poised to take advantage of the boom in the agri sector over the coming years.

Chinese steel is now cheaper than cabbage;

"The comparison to cabbage is ironic, given many pundits have predicted that an agriculture boom will gradually take the place of the fading resources boom.

The notion that China's massive population would start demanding more high quality food was behind BHP Billiton's multibillion-dollar push into potash, which was announced in August 2013."

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/chinese-steel-is-now-cheaper-than-cabbage-20150708-gi81ea.html

Major offtake agreement upgrade

The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" or the "Company") announce the upgrade of its take or pay supply agreement ("Agreement") with its existing Fortune 500 US-based agri-business customer.

The initial Agreement, for the supply of polyhalite from the York Potash Project ("the Project"), was announced on 21 January 2014. It was for 500,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite for a five year period, from commencement of production, with a possible renewal for a further five years. The Agreement counterparty also had the option to take up to an additional 500,000 tonnes per annum.

The revised Agreement will see the base amount of polyhalite supplied tripled to 1.5 million tonnes per annum. The initial contract term is extended from five years to seven years, with possible extension options for two additional five year periods.

The price to be paid under the Agreement will remain confidential but is still based on a formula linked to the market price of nutrients contained in polyhalite. To give context on the significance of the Agreement, on current prices and over a full 17 year period, it represents a multi-billion dollar trade deal between the UK and US.

The counterparty, which will continue to remain confidential at this time, is a major US based Fortune 500 agri-business and would be seen by investors and banks as a premium grade counterparty.

The Company has now secured 3.1 million tonnes per annum of offtake agreements, with an additional 4.8 million tonnes per annum in other forms of commitments. These agreements will provide further assistance in underpinning future financing requirements.

Sirius lands multi-billion deal - By Harriet Mann | Wed, 19th August 2015 - 11:26

Sirius lands multi-billion dealSirius Minerals (SXX) has bagged a potential multi-billion dollar contract with an unknown Fortune 500 US-based agri-business for its York Moors potash. The commitment comes nearly two months after the blueprints for the mine were given the final seal of approval by local councils, to the relief of tired investors.

The agreement is an upgrade of an existing take or pay supply deal for 500,000 tonnes per annum of polyhalite over five years, which had the potential for an additional 500,000 tonnes each year. Now, at least 1.5 million tonnes of polyhalite will be shipped per annum over seven years. The agri-business can extend this deal by up to ten years.

"The price to be paid under the Agreement will remain confidential but is still based on a formula linked to the market price of nutrients contained in polyhalite," said the wannabe potash miner. "To give context on the significance of the Agreement, on current prices and over a full 17 year period, it represents a multi-billion dollar trade deal between the UK and US."

Sirius has now secured 3.1 million tonnes per annum of offtake agreements for its York Moors potash. A further 4.8 million tonnes per annum has been earmarked under other commitments. The company is trying to negotiate the first phase of debt funding for the project, which was finally approved in July. It's thought the entire development - which includes the mine, mineral transport system and granulator - will cost around $3 billion.



"This is exactly the sort of news were have been expecting following permitting and shows the work that Sirius was able to maintain in the background as the permitting process was being concluded," says WH Ireland analyst Paul Smith. "We retain our Buy recommendation and 50p price target this morning."

The group is running a Definitive Feasibility Study to examine the possibility of increasing the facility's initial capacity from 6.5 million tonnes per annum to 10 million tonnes, and then 20 million tonnes after. At full capacity, over $1 billion of cash could be generated from yearly production of 13 million tonnes of polyhalite selling for $150 a tonne.

Sirius's shares price initially jumped as high as 4% to 17.75p on Wednesday, bouncing off its 16.83p support.

Approvals update - Decision notices

The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY) ("Sirius" or the "Company") provide an update on the approvals process for the York Potash Project ("the Project").

The Company has received the final Decision Notices formally granting planning permission for four out of five planning applications submitted by the Company to the local planning authorities. The Decision Notices are for:

· the mine and mineral transport system from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council ("RCBC");
· the materials handling facility from RCBC;
· the temporary construction accommodation and a park and ride facility from Scarborough Borough Council, and;
· the operational park and ride facility (which sees an extension to an existing local park and ride) from the North York Moors National Park Authority ("NYMNPA").


The Decision Notice for the mine and mineral transport system planning application from the NYMNPA is currently on track to be received by the Company before the end of September 2015, as previously referenced in the 10 July 2015 announcement.

Sirius was on CountryFile last Sunday, so should still be available on the BBC iplayer for those that are interested. Quite a revealing operation as there is already a company extracting potash in the area (Caledonian Mining, I think) which is now 9 miles out under the North Sea.