Sirius has no plans to pull out of North Dakota

Bismarck, N.D.—Press reports indicating that Sirius Minerals and its subsidiary, Dakota Salts, are giving up on potash mining in North Dakota because of disappointing tests results are not true, according to a top Sirius executive. “We’re still active,” asserted J.T. Starzecki, a senior manager for the company’s U.S and Australian interests, by long-distance and email from Australia. “In no way shape or form are we done with North Dakota. That’s just not the case.” Last week’s Associated Press report from Bismarck had a Dakota Salts contact stating that test results were not up to expectations, and that North Dakota potash deposits are “not on the front burner” of the company’s plans.” North Dakota State Geologist Ed Murphy responded for Green Markets that he had no information indicating a Sirius pullout. Murphy said he has had recent conversations with company officials and a couple of emails in the last six weeks, and “they have not expressed that to me.” He said he couldn’t comment on reports that Dakota Salts had gotten unexpected test results. Starzecki reacted to the AP report from Sirius’ Sidney office, saying that of course Sirius Minerals as an organization is focused on its lead project, which is York Potash in the United Kingdom. He added, “But as part of our overall business model, we have a portfolio of projects that we are looking to advance in various capacities. We have land exploration tenements in Australia, the U.S., and the U.K., and those make up the Sirius Minerals exploration portfolio. Specifically with North Dakota, we are evaluating our next steps for the project. Last year we launched a regional study of the area to see if what we saw in our first drill core was a local anomaly or a regional anomaly. With that additional data, we have been able to develop a few new paths to advancing the project, and are working internally to decide on the best course of action moving forward. It should be known that in no, way, shape or form is Sirius Minerals saying that the project is being closed down. Quite the contrary, we are actively looking at some exciting avenues for the project. York Potash is our lead project, but we continue to advance the other projects within our portfolio.”