Sirius Minerals Plc. has hired the European construction
group Strabag to build a 13 km tunnel section for the underground transport
system for the Woodsmith Mine near Whitby, England. The design-and-build
contract was signed on 28 March. The Woodsmith Mine will begin extraction from
the world’s largest deposit of polyhalite, a mineral used in the production of
fertilizer, in 2021.
The section to be built by STRABAG is part of a 37 km tunnel
with a diameter of 4.7 m for an environmentally friendly conveyor system to
transport the mined polyhalite to Wilton for processing. The Strabag contract
also includes the construction of a tunnel ramp as well as the tunnel portal at
Wilton. The actual tunnelling works will cover the distance from the Wilton
portal to a shaft at Lockwood Beck, with 150 m to be built via cut-and-cover
construction, 800 m through conventional tunnelling and 11,900 m using a tunnel
boring machine. Site mobilisation is to begin immediately. Visit http://www.strabag.com.
13/18.
http://www.strabag.com/databases/internet/_public/content.nsf/web/SE-PRESSE.COM-PRESSEMITTEILUNGEN-2018-STRABAG%20erh%C3%A4lt%20Tunnelbaulos%20f%C3%BCr%20%E2%80%9ENorth%20Yorkshire%20Polyhalite%20Project%E2%80%9C%20der%20Sirius%20Minerals#?men1=6&men2=1&sid=1621&h=7&l=EN
Sirius has varied its existing mineral transport system
(MTS) tunnelling contract with Strabag to include engineering, procurement and
construction of the conveyor system, the maintenance railway, electrical and
communications infrastructure. The MTS fit-out scope includes the fit-out of;
the MTS conveyor, the maintenance railway, electrical and communications
infrastructure, and all other services in the tunnel essential to the operation
of the MTS.
Mineral transport system
The MTS will carry the Company's mined polyhalite from 360
meters underground at the Woodsmith mine site to the materials handling
facility at Wilton, Teesside, on a 37km underground conveyor system. The
tunnel will be constructed by three tunnel boring machines. The conveyor
system in the MTS will be designed to handle 20 Mtpa of throughput. The
tunnel will also contain maintenance rail and services, including a 66kV power
feeder from Wilton International industrial complex.
Portal construction at Wilton for the first TBM remains on
track for completion in 2018 with TBM delivery expected early 2019.
For
further information click here and for tunnelbuilder archive click uk/97. Visit
https://siriusminerals.com. 46/18.
For further information, please contact:
Sirius Minerals Plc
Investor Relations
Jennifer Wyllie, Tristan Pottas
Email: ir@siriusminerals.com
Tel: +44 845 524 0247
Media enquiries
Edelman
Alex Simmons, Ed Brown
Email: Siriusminerals@edelman.com
