Just ask anyone who has backed plans to build a mine on the Yorkshire coast over the last 13 years. Now is the time for the project’s supporters to hold their nerve. Mining giant Anglo American’s announcement that it will slow down development of the £7bn fertiliser mine near Whitby sent shockwaves around the business community.
Was somebody really thinking about building a giant mine in the North York Moors? Would anybody seriously consider such a vast industrial undertaking in one of Britain’s favourite beauty spots? Was it possible that beneath the hills lurked a stash of potash that could create a mini-version of the Klondike? The company originally behind the scheme – Sirus Minerals - proved the sceptics wrong, for a time at least.