Good progress being made at Sirius's York project

AIM-listed potash development group Sirius Minerals rose on Friday morning after saying that drilling progress has been made its York Potash Project in North Yorkshire.

The group's third hole at the project, SM3, has made "good" progress and the final casing has now been inserted in preparation for coring. Final casing depth was reached in just 10 days, compared to 40 days at the second bore hole, SM2. "Current work to date at SM3 has been free from the fluid loss zones and the resultant delays experienced at SM2."

Sirius announced back in December that drilling progress at its 'SM2' site had been slowed by a series of fluid loss zones which have been encountered as the hole approached commencement of coring depth. On January 23rd, the group announced the completion of coring at SM2.

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"We are delighted with the progress on SM3. This has helped us to claw back some of the time and budget we had to put aside after the experience at SM2," said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chris Fraser.

"Our experienced and professional team is continually adapting its approach to help ensure the drilling work is delivered as quickly and as efficiently as possible."

Shares were trading 1.23% higher at 20.5p in the opening minutes.

BC