Bosses at the Woodsmith Mine project in north Yorkshire – which is trying to gain access to the world’s largest known deposit of polyhalite fertiliser – have cut jobs at the site while hiring workers from Belarus
The company behind the biggest private infrastructure project in the country is facing a backlash after laying off British workers while hiring Belarusians.
Investors have raised concerns about the Woodsmith Mine project in north Yorkshire which is trying to gain access to the world’s largest known deposit of polyhalite fertiliser. And sources say Anglo American is laying off British miners at the project, near Whitby, after announcing last year it was costing £2million a day to run.
As part of a new deal after merging with a rival, the company will quit its UK headquarters and move to Vancouver ahead of the first planned production in 2030. The move puts hundreds of staff who work in the Anglo London office at risk of redundancy. But it is employing workers from Belarus, a country which faces sanctions from the British government around asset freezing and bans on exporting and importing certain goods.
This is to pressure the Belarusian government to comply with human rights and international law. The measures are in place due to Belarus’ support for President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and its own human rights record. Anglo American insisted workers from Belarus had been called in because of their “specialist shaft sinking and tunnelling skills”. But the move has angered local politicians and investors are also “deeply worried”.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Woodsmith was meant to be a jobs boost for Teesside and North Yorkshire and we cannot have a situation where Teessiders are being laid off, undercut or sidelined on their own doorstep, especially for workers coming in from sanctioned states like Belarus. It’s an insult to local people who were promised good, long-term jobs. If this is true, Anglo American need to explain themselves – and fast.”
He is also writing to the company over the situation. The company has recently said it is looking for new investment with a “stringent investment criteria”. When asked about what that meant and the future of the project, Matt Parsons, head of social performance at the project, said: “It means strengthening the company’s balance sheet. It means the company being in a financial position in order to proceed.”
When asked if it needed help or investment, he said: “Yes. It means securing a syndication partner and completion of the detailed feasibility study that would enable Anglo to commit to the final investment decision.” Referring to the Belarussian workers, he said: “They have made a very valuable contribution to the project.”
He was speaking at a public consultation event held around the project and its latest developments. One investor said: “There’s fear our money will be lost, frankly. It’s a big concern to hear Belarusian workers are being used, when British workers were laid off.” A spokesperson for Anglo American said: “There are currently 1,100 people working on the Woodsmith project and we are proud that 75% of the workforce are from the local area.
“This is a very high proportion of local people to work on a mining project of this scale, especially during construction. The workforce includes just under 100 people from overseas that have specialist shaft sinking and tunnelling skills. We are sinking the two deep shafts at the mine using the latest technology – shaft boring roadheaders (SBRs).
“This is only the third project in the world that has used SBRs for shaft sinking. The most recent project was in Belarus. Redpath Deilmann, our shaft sinking contractor, were contracted to do this work and they have used a core team from that project to work with us at Woodsmith to ensure that we make best use of all that technical and specialist experience to sink the shafts safely and efficiently.
“This core specialist team consists of 50 people from Eastern Europe, predominantly from Belarus, which represents a very small proportion of the Woodsmith workforce.”Around this, Redpath has built up a predominantly local team. We value the contribution that the international workers have made and have welcomed them to the project.”
The spokesman added: “We have said that we will continue to progress the development of the Woodsmith project with its ongoing potential to be a generational asset in crop nutrients, having spent $184 million on the project in the first-half of 2025.”Work is also progressing to identify and secure one or more strategic syndication partners ahead of consideration by the Board for approval and subsequent project ramp-up, anticipated from 2027.”