Through her Hancock Prospecting company, Australian mining magnate and billionaire Gina Rinehart agreed to release the money as part of a deal originally struck back in 2016. Sirius Minerals received a $ 250 m cash injection from Australia ’s richest woman after surging development costs at its $ 1000 Woodsmith potash mine near Whitby left it with a funding shortfall . Development costs jumped $ 600 m after it realised that a 37 km tunnel to take ore from the mine to a processing facility needed to be wider and thicker . Gina Rinehart 's Sirius Prospecting company agreed to provide the money in return for a 5 % cut from the first 13 million tonnes of ore shipped from the mine , and 1 % thereafter .
Sirius Minerals received a $ 250 m cash injection from Australia ’s richest woman after surging development costs at its $ 1000 Woodsmith potash mine near Whitby left it with a funding shortfall . Development costs jumped $ 600 m after it realised that a 37 km tunnel to take ore from the mine to a processing facility needed to be wider and thicker . Gina Rinehart 's Sirius Prospecting company agreed to provide the money in return for a 5 % cut from the first 13 million tonnes of ore shipped from the mine , and 1 % thereafter .