Sirius Minerals received a $250m cash injection from Australia’s richest woman after surging development costs at its $4.5bn Woodsmith potash mine near Whitby left it with a funding shortfall. Project costs jumped $600m after it realised that a 37 km tunnel to take potash from the mine to a processing facility needed to be wider and thicker. The company said on Monday that it had secured an additional $230m, bringing total financing for the project to $1.3bn.
Sirius Minerals received a $250m cash injection from Australia’s richest woman after surging development costs at its $4.5bn Woodsmith potash mine near Whitby left it with a funding shortfall. Project costs jumped $600m after it realised that a 37 km tunnel to take potash from the mine to a processing facility needed to be wider and thicker. Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting company agreed to release the money in return for a 5% cut from the first 13 million tonnes of polyhalite shipped from the mine, and 1% thereafter.