WORK has officially begun on the new potash mine in the North York Moors.

The project, which was christened the Woodsmith Mine at a naming ceremony in February, is being constructed by Sirius Minerals at their site near Whitby.

As part of the so-called “section 106” agreement between the company and North York Moors National Park Authority, a number of arrangements have been put in place to ensure that “environmental mitigation and compensation works” will help offset the impacts of the mine development.

These payments will include contributions to environmental improvements, tourism promotion, skills development, educational training and rail infrastructure in the area.

Andy Wilson, chief executive officer at the North York Moors National Park, said: “We appreciate that there will be some disruption during the construction stage of the mine and are working closely with all parties to carry out mitigation and ensure that we can deliver the range of positive projects funded by the S106 agreement.

“The authority has appointed two key posts to lead on the monitoring of the mine construction. Briony Fox, director of Polyhalite Projects, joined us on April 3 and Robert Smith will take up the position of senior minerals planner later in May.

“He will be responsible for ensuring the mine is delivered in accordance with the very detailed planning approval.”

In a statement, Sirius Minerals said that the enablement and preparatory works have been ongoing since January, and that there has been a “smooth transition” between these preparatory works and the formal construction works - this official transition being the trigger for the section 106 payments.

Gareth Edmunds, external affairs director at Sirius, added: “We continue to make good progress with the development of the Woodsmith Mine and continue to progress in line with schedule and budget.”

The mine was named in honour of two of the project’s original geologists - Peter Woods and Dr Frederick Smith.

First production at the massive fertiliser mine is set to begin in 2021,with peak production expected to be hit in 2026, at which point it will produce 20m tonnes of polyhalite per year, all transported underground to Teesside.

Sirius Minerals has said the mine is expected to directly create about1,000 jobs, plus more along the supply chain.

Polyhalite is a source of potash, used as a fertiliser. It contains elements including sulphur, potassium, magnesium and calcium.