This may well be the key to prodding on the price. There have been several encouraging recommendations of late, but so far not much movement.

i recollect that this deposit may still be some 2 years away from full (profitable) production

Quite, but the price has certainly languished from its highs , and the financial support looks to be well in place.Plenty of orders also coming in.

Back above the 200ma, but starting to look over bought.

From the I C

The Sirius story has been long in the telling, and because first production isn’t expected until the end of 2021, the investment case will concern the Woodsmith mine’s development for some time yet. But investors now have a clear roadmap. This year, Sirius should complete the preparation of the site and mineshafts, sign a contract with AMC to sink the shafts 1,520m beneath the surface, and agree up to $2.6bn of debt financing.

That package, which follows the £370m equity fundraising at 20p in late 2016, will provide the cash to build the underground mine and transport system, and design and construct a handling facility 37km away at Wilton, Teeside, and a port at nearby Bran Sands. If all goes well, Woodsmith will produce 10mtpa (million tonnes per year) of polyhalite by 2023, and double that by 2026.

Critically, this epic job is now underwritten by a customer base for Sirius’s POLY4 product, a multi-nutrient crop fertiliser with growing acceptance among agronomy experts and farmers alike. At the time of writing, Sirius had signed seven long-term off-take agreements with agricultural groups in North America, China and south-east Asia, at an average sales price of $145 a tonne.

These deals, equivalent to 4.5mt of annual output, are supplemented by 3.4mtpa of loosely-defined “other commitments”, although Sirius has previously said 6-7mtpa of formal agreements will need to be signed for the debt financing green light. Accordingly, successful completion of ongoing negotiations “with a variety of potential customers in multiple regions” are the most likely source of a stock re-rating in 2018. Comments from JPMorgan analysts that “lender due diligence…is already under way” should supplement confidence.

Equally, prospective investors can take heart from the subscriptions of senior management: chairman Russell Scrimshaw coughed up £511,000 in the 2016 fundraising to keep his holding at 1 per cent, while chief executive Chris Fraser has a £28.5m stake in the FTSE 250 outfit. And according to broker WH Ireland, institutional investors who participated in the placing regularly top up their holdings on any weakness in the stock, providing a useful floor to the share price.

Notice of Full Year 2017 Results

Sirius Minerals Plc (the "Company"), the leading fertilizer development company focused on the development and operation of its polyhalite project in North Yorkshire, confirms that it will announce its full year results for the twelve month period ended 31 December 2017 on Tuesday 6 March 2018 at 7:00am (GMT).

Management will host a conference call for investors and analysts at 9.30am (GMT) on Tuesday 6 March 2018, including a question and answer session. Details of the call will be included in the results announcement.

current cap = £1.25bn
cash call due this year for £2.1bn

source = ST page 2 Biz

97.5% certain i shall take up any rights offered

Full Year 2017 Results

2017 Preliminary results announcement

A year of substantial progress for the world's leading polyhalite company

Sirius Minerals Plc ("Sirius" or the "Company") announces the results for Sirius and its subsidiaries ("the Group") for the year ended 31 December 2017.

Sirius Minerals Plc CEO Chris Fraser commented:

"Our world class project based in North Yorkshire has the potential to disrupt the global fertilizer market and contribute substantially to the UK economy.

We achieved a number of important performance milestones in 2017, with commencement of construction, incremental supply agreements signed, bringing the total to 4.4 million tonnes per annum, a move to the London Stock Exchanges's Main Market and inclusion in the FTSE250 amongst the highlights.

We continue to innovate and work hard on all aspects of our project to secure value for shareholders and are focused on ensuring 2018 will be another year of significant progress on all fronts, as demonstrated by our recent shaft sinking contract."

Business highlights

Construction

· Enablement works completed for the Woodsmith Mine and the formal commencement of development notice was issued by the local planning authority.

· Site preparation and establishment works at the Woodsmith Mine site and Lockwood Beck complete.

· Optimisation of shaft construction and design has resulted in a simpler design and construction methodology and reduced surface footprint.

· Shaft sinking activities commenced, diaphragm walling activities are progressing smoothly with three rigs operating on the service shaft foreshaft.

Sales and Marketing

· Expanded breadth and depth of global agronomy programme, the Company has initiated 80 new agronomy trials. The overall programme now encompasses over 260 trials on 32 crops in 17 different countries, demonstrating POLY4 delivers greater nutrient uptake and increases both yield and quality.

· Binding take-or-pay supply agreement signed with Wilmar International, one of the largest and most established fertilizer buyers and distributors in South East Asia, for the use and resale of POLY4 exclusively in South East Asia.

Corporate and commercial

· The Company secured admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") Main Market with a Premium Listing and inclusion in the FTSE 250 index.

· More than doubled the number of employees and established new Corporate Headquarters in North Yorkshire as we ramp up construction and development.

Financial Highlights

· Cash resources at the end of December 2017 were £468.5 million, comprising bank deposits and cash equivalents of £394.0 million and restricted cash of £74.5 million compared to £665.3 million at the end of December 2016.

· Due to IFRS fair valuation requirements relating to elements of the stage 1 financing, the 22% increase in the Company's share price over the course of the year has caused a total loss of £78.9m being recorded for the year. The fair valuation adjustments driving the loss are non-cash in nature. Further detail relating to the fair valuation adjustments can be found within the financial review.

· Total funds deployed in developing the project during 2017 before financing costs were £197.3 million.

Safety

Safety is paramount to the success of our business. Our culture places safety at the forefront of everything we do and we are continuously engaged with our contractors and consultants to ensure they adopt our safety culture and company values. Two recordable incidents have occurred during the first year of construction and we are constantly working to improve our processes and find safer ways of working in order to ensure that we all return home to our families at the end of the day.


Outlook for 2018

2017 was a year of meaningful progress on the ground in North Yorkshire and in the global fertilizer markets. 2018 will be another year of significant progress on all fronts, ultimately culminating in the successful completion of the stage 2 financing.

Construction

· Complete main service shaft foreshaft construction and excavation.

· Complete the installation of the main production shaft foreshaft and commence foreshaft excavation.

· Commence Mineral Transport System (MTS) access shaft construction at the Woodsmith Mine site.

· Largely complete construction of MTS portal at Wilton.

· Commence shaft sinking at Lockwood Beck intermediate shaft site.

· Commence early works for the Materials Handling Facility.

· Finalise Harbour facility strategy and complete procurement.

R&D, sales & marketing

· Expand global agronomy programme and establish 80 new trials.

· Execute 2 Mtpa incremental supply agreements.

Corporate & commercial

· Substantially complete project procurement.

· Draw down the stage 1 financing royalty instrument.

· Execute stage 2 financing.

Post-balance sheet events
On 14 February 2018 we announced that we have entered into a design and build contract with one of the world's leading shaft sinking and mining contractors, the Canadian headquartered, DMC Mining Services (DMC), for the construction of the four shafts required for our polyhalite project in North Yorkshire. DMC will utilise proven shaft boring roadheader (SBR) technology to sink the main shafts at the Woodsmith Mine site. Adopting the SBR opens opportunities to accelerate first polyhalite production by up to six months.

more.....

Quarterly progress update

§ The project remains on track to deliver first polyhalite and commercial production on time and on budget

§ Tunnelling contract signed with STRABAG for drive 1 of the Mineral Transport System from Wilton to Lockwood Beck

§ Shaft sinking contract signed with DMC and the contractor handover process is largely complete

§ Opportunities to accelerate the production of first polyhalite by up to six months are being progressed with DMC

§ Production shaft bore hole intersected a total of 53m of polyhalite and demonstrated consistency with previous holes


more.....

Quarterly progress update

Quarterly progress update

§ The project remains on track to deliver first polyhalite and commercial production on time and on budget

§ Tunnelling contract signed with STRABAG for drive 1 of the Mineral Transport System from Wilton to Lockwood Beck

§ Shaft sinking contract signed with DMC and the contractor handover process is largely complete

§ Opportunities to accelerate the production of first polyhalite by up to six months are being progressed with DMC

§ Production shaft bore hole intersected a total of 53m of polyhalite and demonstrated consistency with previous holes.

more.....

Two updates...... remarkably similar 😉
I'm just annoyed that the sp left without me!

One of my favorites this one is.

Any news to explain todays' fall ?

2p is not exactly a big deal, and the share has had a good run of late

I just noticed too that the mining stocks have had a poor day.

From yesterday :-

Invitation for conversion of convertible bonds

Isn't this either a long term hold or a trading stock? Production way off in the future?

Liberum Capital Buy 34.60 60.00 - Reiterates

The government should be backing Sirius Minerals’ transformative mining project

POLY4 Supply Agreement - Nigeria

§ 7 year supply agreement for POLY4 with ITL Trading, one of the largest suppliers of fertilizer to Nigeria

§ Pricing terms consistent with the Company's existing agreements

§ Company's aggregate peak contracted sales volume increased to 4.7 Mtpa



Sirius Minerals Plc ("Sirius" or the "Company") announces the signing of a binding take or pay offtake agreement ("the Agreement") to supply POLY4 to Intercontinental Trade DMCC Dubai ("ITL Trading").

ITL Trading is a global trading company with an active presence in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It specializes in supplying Nigeria and West African clients with globally sourced products and services that are critical to laying the foundations for a modern economy. ITL Trading has been in business for over 25 years, and is headquartered in Dubai. It is one of the largest suppliers of fertilizer into Nigeria, and through related companies has access to distribution and logistics infrastructure including storage, port concessions and NPK blending facilities.

The supply agreement is a seven-year agreement from first production, for volumes of POLY4 increasing to 350,000 tonnes per annum in year four and provides for exclusive marketing rights into Nigeria. The agreement has a pricing mechanism linked to a relevant product benchmark and is consistent with the Company's existing portfolio of agreements. Taking the Agreement into consideration, the Company's peak contracted sales volumes has increased from 4.4 Mtpa to 4.7 Mtpa.

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

"Africa is a huge potential market for POLY4 and we are very pleased to establish our initial footprint in Nigeria, which is the largest market in West Africa. Nigeria is positioned as the key market for fertilizer growth in the region and we believe ITL Trading will be a fantastic long-term partner for the Company.

"We continue to make good progress on all aspects of our project and are in active discussions with potential customers in other key markets such as Europe, India and Brazil in order to support the stage 2 financing."

Preetpal Walia, Managing Director of ITL Trading, comments:

"The Nigerian fertilizer market is undergoing strong growth and there is tremendous potential for multi-nutrient products which can deliver balanced fertilization. We see POLY4 as being an ideal product to meet this opportunity and are very pleased to be entering into this long-term arrangement."

House broker Shore Capital note today:
"Sirius had been looking to execute c.2Mtpa of incremental agreements in 2018, of which today’s agreement represents a significant 17.5% of that. Furthermore, Sirius’s aggregate peak contracted sales volume now stands at 4.7Mtpa (previously: 4.4Mtpa). Another three or four similar-sized deals would take Sirius into the 6-7Mtpa target range to support the Stage 2 debt financing (for which Sirius hopes to obtain initial lender commitments in mid-2018, towards execution in late 2018).

The 7-year agreement with Dubai-headquartered ITL sees volumes rising to 350ktpa in Year 4, and gives ITL exclusive marketing rights into Nigeria. Nigeria happens to be the largest market in West Africa (and is a key market for fertiliser growth in the region), and ITL is amongst the largest suppliers of fertiliser into that country, with access to distribution and logistics infrastructure (including storage, port concessions and NPK blending facilities).

The agreement’s pricing mechanism is linked to an undisclosed product benchmark, which according to Sirius is consistent with the existing portfolio of agreements. We are hopeful that once a few more contracts have been announced, Sirius will be able to unveil a higher average price than the US$145/t disclosed in late 2016. If this proves the case, it should be very positive for the share price (less in the way of contracted volumes would be required to support the Stage 2 financing; average received prices could be expected to be higher due to the steep discounts required to secure take-or-pay agreements; NPV would therefore be significantly boosted).

Sirius also reported that it continues to make good progress on all aspects of its paradigm-shifting North Yorkshire polyhalite project, and that it is in “active discussions” with potential customers in other key markets such as Europe, India and Brazil.

Shore Capital last visited the project in early May 2018, as of which time Sirius remained on time and on budget to deliver the key milestones that are first polyhalite and commercial production. We have previously opined that there will almost always be delays in projects of such magnitude as Sirius’s, and noted that the company has been doing the right thing in seeking and attempting to capitalise on opportunities to accelerate activities where possible. While Sirius is currently at development stage and still some years from becoming a cash flow-generating company, we believe that an investment in Sirius should become progressively de-risked and enjoy significant value uplift as it advances towards production."