The 23-mile transportation tunnel currently being constructed by Anglo American .
NEWS
ADVICE
Anglo American to invest £ 530m in 2022
Anglo American says it will invest a further £ 530m into the Woodsmith fertiliser mine in 2022 to tweak its construction .
Anglo American has excavated about two-thirds of the 23-mile tunnel between the Whitby mine and its Teesside plant .
And the firm says the additional investment will be used to continue work on mine shafts and the transportation tunnel .
Anglo – which acquired the former Sirius Minerals project in 2020 – has been carrying out a detailed technical review of the Woodsmith polyhalite project .
It now says a number of elements of the project ’ s design “ would benefit from modification to bring it up to Anglo American ’ s safety and operating integrity standards ”.
In a statement to investors , Anglo American says construction of the major elements of the project is progressing , and approximately $ 700m (£ 530m ) of capital is expected to be invested in 2022 .
Mark Cutifani , chief executive of Anglo American , said : “ We are very happy with the high quality and exciting potential of Woodsmith , with the scale and quality of the polyhalite orebody pointing to a Q1
WORK STARTS ON CENTRE SIX
Mayor Andy Preston says it ’ s been decades since Middlesbrough last had regeneration like it ’ s currently experiencing , as work started on the latest multi-million-pound office building to bring hundreds more jobs into the town ’ s Centre Square .
AXA UK will transfer its 450 Teesside staff there when Six Centre Square is ready next year .
The building – 40,000 sq ft of Grade A office space over four floors – is the next phase of the landmark office development , led by developer Ashall Projects , which has already seen other high-profile companies relocate into the heart of the town .
Last year XPS , Causeway and First Source moved into the first two buildings of the Centre Square development . They will soon be joined by GB Bank and two of the UK ’ s most prominent firms of barristers .
Around 1,000 people will then be working in the new Centre Square offices .
Six Centre Square is being funded and
operating cost position and strong margins .
“ This is a very long-life asset and we are going to take the necessary time to get every aspect of the design right to match our long-term vision and value aspirations .
“ We expect to have completed our design engineering , capital budget and schedule at the end of 2022 , with a fully optimised value case that recognises the upside potential we see in Woodsmith , and we will then submit the full project to the board .”
The announcement comes two months after Anglo American added a “ significant impairment charge ” of £ 535m to the multibillion-pound project it acquired in 2020 from Sirius Minerals – £ 130m more than it originally paid .
It bought the project for £ 405m in March 2020 after Sirius Minerals failed to secure £ 410m worth of government bonds , which left it on the brink of financial collapse .
That virtually wiped out the shareholdings of thousands of small private investors , causing them to lose “ significant sums ”.
In December 2020 , Anglo announced it was investing £ 375m in the project during 2021 , an increase on the £ 225m it had previously committed to spending .
Mark Ashall cuts the first sod at the latest Centre Square development , watched on by mayors Ben Houchen and Andy Preston , and representatives from AXA UK .
bought by the Tees Valley Combined Authority , with Middlesbrough Council also contributing a £ 2m grant to the project from its Towns Fund allocation , which was provided by the government as part of the levelling up programme .
Andy Preston was joined on the site by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen , developer Mark Ashall and representatives of AXA UK to mark the start of construction .
FIVE REASONS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS A DECARB PLAN
With the net zero economy grabbing many headlines , now is the time to review the decarbonisation plan for your business .
Here , Vicky McCombe , partner at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson , gives five reasons why it makes good business sense …
1 . Businesses that are being scrutinised by investors on their ESG ( environmental , social and corporate governance ) performance or setting themselves a net zero target will need a decarbonisation plan as part of their strategy . The changes businesses need to make can be varied and complex , depending on their energy consumption , and will not happen overnight . Enough time must be built into the plan to properly implement changes .
2 . Businesses that sell services and products to the public sector will need to demonstrate their efforts to decarbonise . Central and local governments are pushing for lower carbon ways of working , through their procurement policies – all in line with their respective net zero targets .
3 . Customer preferences are changing . In the real estate market , for example , businesses looking for new space may be looking for less energy-intensive developments to contribute towards meeting their own net zero commitments .
4 . Upcoming policies and regulations will make it very difficult for carbon-intensive businesses to survive and thrive . For example , the UK government ’ s Heat and Building Strategy banned the installation of gas boilers in new homes from 2025 . There is also a high likelihood of a carbon tax on the horizon – a form of taxation where the use of carbon is taxed , or an incentive system is put in place that rewards those who make carbon savings .
5 . Businesses that pride themselves on being ethical have a moral obligation to adapt because of climate change and it could become a differentiator in the employment market .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 13