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A US multi-billionaire is among those to have pocketed a windfall following the collapse in shares of Sirius Minerals.

A hedge fund set up by Ken Griffin is one of several UK and US financial institutions which have cashed in after the plunge in the stock.

Shares in Sirius tumbled more than 50% this week after it failed to secure vital funding for its £3bn fertilizer mine project near Whitby.

A number of hedge funds effectively bet on the company’s share price to fall, using a method known as “short selling”.

They include Mr Griffin’s fund Citadel Europe alongside others including HBK Investments, Highbridge Capital Management and Polygon Global Partners.

Mr Griffin is estimated to have a fortune of more than $12bn.

Reports suggest short-sellers may have made as much as £20m from Tuesday’s fall.

Their gains are in stark contrast to the losses racked up by many smaller investors, who have seen the value of their shares plunge by around 90% since 2016.

Sirius has around 85,000 smaller shareholders, with around 12,000 living around Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Scarborough landlord Mark Leppington lost his £120,000 life savings after investing in Sirius .

Around 1,200 jobs are at risk if the company fails to secure its future.

Parts of the workforce employed on the massive project were “let go” on Thursday as operations are slowed down .

It is not known how many of the project’s 1,200 staff and contractors have downed tools; but bosses have rejected claims by one worker that around half the workforce had been “let go”.

Sirius said on Tuesday the financing of its £3bn mine and Teesside processing plant could have been “delivered as planned” if the Government had not refused its plea for help.

A six-month review is now being held to attempt to secure a lifeline.

A Treasury spokesperson has said it cannot comment on commercially sensitive matters, but it had to “assess the potential of a project against the need to protect taxpayers’ money.”