Secures future of Woodsmith Project

On 20 January 2020, the boards of Sirius Minerals Plc (Sirius), Anglo American plc (Anglo American) and Anglo American Projects UK Limited (Bidco) announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Sirius by Bidco (the Acquisition), to be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act (the Scheme).

The Court sanctioned the Scheme on 13 March 2020 and the Scheme became effective this morning, 17 March 2020. Anglo American, through its wholly owned subsidiary Anglo American Projects UK Limited, has now completed the Acquisition of Sirius and its Woodsmith Project in the UK.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "Today marks a new chapter for the Woodsmith Project, the employees of the business and everyone who has an interest in its future. This is a project with clear potential as a Tier 1 supplier of premium quality, low carbon fertiliser to help meet food demand for a fast growing global population.

"Anglo American brings greater certainty to the business and the development of the Woodsmith Project, building upon our long experience in the global fertiliser market covering most of the last 50 years. The project itself offers the prospect of sustained employment and economic stimulus for North Yorkshire and Teesside for many decades to come and, when the mine is ramped up, a boost in exports to benefit the wider British economy.

"The team has done a remarkable job, designing the mining operation to have minimal physical impact on its natural surroundings as well as progressing both its development and the market for POLY4 to where they are today. We share a vision of working towards a smarter future for mining - a safer future with a smaller environmental footprint to ensure that we can supply the essential metals and minerals the world needs, and do so sustainably. The Woodsmith Project exemplifies this approach.

"We recognise the role the project will continue to play in its local communities and, as promised, I am pleased to confirm that we are today transferring £1 million into the project's charitable foundation. The foundation supports so many good local causes, including education and skills training, community sports clubs and broader local regeneration. We intend to contribute further amounts of £1 million on this date for each of the next three years, prior to the foundation receiving a substantial royalty income when the mine begins production."

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Notes to editors:

The Woodsmith Project is a mine and associated infrastructure that is in development in North Yorkshire and Teesside, in the northeast of England. It is a potential Tier 1 mining asset, in terms of scale, resource life, operating cost profile and the nature and quality of its fertiliser product. The project includes the world's currently largest known high-grade polyhalite deposit with a reported Reserve of 290 million tonnes, a grade of 88.8% and a Resource of 2.69 billion tonnes. The mine infrastructure has been designed to be sympathetic to its natural surroundings and for the mining and underground transport of the polyhalite to the Materials Handling Facility on Teesside to cause minimal surface impact.

The Woodsmith Project will produce POLY4, a premium quality, multi-nutrient fertiliser certified for organic use that contains four of the six key nutrients necessary for plant growth: potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium.  It can be used as an attractive low-chloride alternative to (and for blending with) traditional fertiliser products on a cost-effective basis and is particularly valuable for major high value crops, such as tea, coffee, beans, potatoes, and many fruits and vegetables.

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 mining operations and undeveloped resources provides the metals and minerals that enable a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing consumer-driven demands of the world's developed and maturing economies. With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and mine, process, move and market our products to our customers around the world - safely, responsibly and sustainably.

As a responsible miner - of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, iron ore, coal and nickel - we are the custodians of what are precious natural resources. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock the sustainable value that those resources represent for our shareholders, the communities and countries in which we operate, and for society as a whole. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people's lives.

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