THE "majority of the pieces of the planning jigsaw" have now come together for the York Potash project as further approvals are granted for the £1.7 billion mine.

Sirius Minerals, the company behind the proposals, has now received the final Decision Notices formally granting planning permission for four out of five planning applications submitted to the local planning authorities.

The firm is hoping to build a mine for the extraction of plant fertiliser mineral potash in the North York Moors at Sneaton, near Whitby, in a project which it says will create 1,000 direct jobs.

Chris Fraser, managing director at Sirius, said: "The Decision Notices represent the majority of the pieces of the planning jigsaw coming together.

"We thank the authorities concerned for their diligence and look forward to continuing to bring the York Potash Project to fruition."

The decision notices received relate to applications for the mine, and its associated transport system for the mineral, and its materials handling facility, all submitted to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, as well as an application for a temporary construction accommodation and a park and ride facility from Scarborough Borough Council, and the operational park and ride facility from the North York Moors National Park Authority.

The Decision Notice for the mine and mineral transport system planning application which was approved by the National Park Authority in July, is on track to be received before the end of September according to the company.

Last week Sirius announced it had secured a multi-billion-dollar fertiliser deal.

The company reported an extended agreement with a US-based company to send polyhalite across the Atlantic.

The firm will annually dispatch 1.5 million tonnes for seven years, which could be extended across two five-year periods.

The deal is the biggest and longest out of all of Sirius’ existing agreements. The firm said the contract is a revision of a previous deal to send at least 500,000 tonnes annually over an initial five years, adding the potential new 17-year alliance represents a multi-billion-dollar deal between the UK and the US.

The mine, which will be the UK’s first potash mine in 40 years when it is built, will tap into the world’s largest and highest grade of the polyhalite, with construction possibly starting later this year.

The US contract means Sirius now has agreements in place to send 3.1 million tonnes of polyhalite to customers every year, with a further 4.8 million tonnes lined up for other annual commitments.

Alongside its US tie-up, the company has an agreement with a Central American fertiliser distributor for 250,000 tonnes of polyhalite a year, and a deal with a South American distributor for 300,000 tonnes a year over seven years.

Sirius aims to extract 13 million tonnes of polyhalite every year from its mine, from an overall defined store of 2.66 billion tonnes.