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The man in charge of Sirius says he is confident its Moors mine will get back on track as he hinted smalltime investors may have been misled.

Chris Fraser is exploring options to reduce costs and attract new investment to the firm's struggling £3bn potash project near Whitby.

But with shares plunging in value , a shortfall in cash still to be plugged and staff being laid off, his company faces an uphill battle.

The Australian miner told The Sunday Times : “I am confident we will get through this.

"That doesn’t mean there isn’t a risk, but I am confident. We have an excellent project.”

(Image: Gazette)

But alongside his defiance, he also hinted that investors in Sirius Minerals , including 12,000 who live in Yorkshire and the North-east, may have been misled by advisors.

“We take the responsibilities we have to all of our shareholders incredibly seriously and that creates a huge drive behind us,” he said.

“In terms of where people have over-invested or probably not taken the right investment advice...

"I feel very bad for those situations, but we have been very clear about the opportunities and also the risks.

“We have been very successful in overcoming some significant milestones along the way and we remain confident that we will overcome this one.”

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Sirius announced earlier this week that it was scrapping the sale of £410m in bonds due to "current market conditions" .

It said it would launch a "comprehensive review" over the next six months to assess alternative ways to secure funding for the project.

Alongside big international investors, Sirius has around 85,000 smaller shareholders who have seen the value of their shares plunge by around 90% since 2016.

Parts of the 1,200-strong workforce employed on the massive project were “let go” on Thursday as operations were slowed down .

Miners have been toiling for more than two years to access the vast seams of fertiliser below the ground.

Sirius had planned to sink two shafts to produce up to 20m tons a year of polyhalite - a particular blend of fertiliser produced only by ICL’s nearby Boulby mine - and build a 23 mile export tunnel to Teesside.