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Increased investment for the Woodsmith Project

23 February, 2023

  • £650 million to be spent on the project in 2023
  • 1,650 people employed on the project
  • £1.2 billion contribution to the regional economy over the last 5 years

Following the announcement of Anglo American’s annual results, the Woodsmith Project is set to receive more investment as it moves towards reaching polyhalite by 2027.

The project is currently building two deep mine shafts over a mile deep near Sneaton, south of Whitby and a 37km-long tunnel to a processing area at Wilton on Teesside.

After investment of £400 million in 2022, it has also been announced that the capital expenditure for this year will be £650 million and approximately £800 million per year for the following three years – a significant investment for the local area.

The project currently employs over 1,650 people at its sites in Whitby, Teesside and Scarborough with the majority being from the local surrounding communities.

A recent study has also shown that the Project contributed £222million to the Yorkshire and North East economies last year and over £1.2billion since it began.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, said: “Anglo American’s purpose is to re-imagine mining to improve people’s lives and with the Woodsmith project we are truly delivering on this.

“As well as the direct economic impact of the project, we also support broader long-lasting social benefits as part of our thriving communities programme. Real lives are changing – in the last two years we supported over 150 people in the area to find employment or to set up their own business as well as engaging nearly 9,000 young people in the area through our work with local schools.

“Progress has really ramped up at the project over the last year; the tunnel is over halfway at 22km, the intermediate shaft at Lockwood Beck is complete and the shafts at Woodsmith Mine and Ladycross making great headway.

“This confidence from the Anglo American board shows the belief in the project and our POLY4 polyhalite product that will help to solve challenges in the global agricultural industry and also has a significantly lower carbon footprint than competing fertilisers.

“This is a mining project that has been designed like no other – with great care placed on the design to deliver minimal surface impact. Whilst our product will make a positive difference to the global fertiliser markets, we also look forward to continuing our work in the local community where we have made a real difference to local people and businesses.”

To download an image please use this link:
https://angloamerican.box.com/s/q322cfe7bp4buqf1xgssw8egcf6nyup1

For further information, please contact:

Nina Harding
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 7929 728596

Daniel Gregory
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 7890 049400

Notes to editors:

Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers.

With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.

As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040.

More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.

The Woodsmith Project involves digging two 1-mile-deep mine shafts at Woodsmith Mine near the village of Sneaton near Whitby, and a 23-mile(37km) transportation tunnel to a processing facility and port on Teesside. In a world first, most of the surface infrastructure at Woodsmith Mine is being built underground and the site landscaped to minimise the visual impact on the surrounding countryside. It will mine a giant deposit of the mineral polyhalite, which will be sold as a natural, low carbon environmentally friendly fertiliser.

www.angloamerican.com

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