Tungsten West plc has unveiled its new development and economic plan for Hemerdon mine, forecast to produce “around 20% of global supply of primary tungsten” outside China.
MINE LIFE
The tin-tungsten project in Plympton near Plymouth in Devon is construction-ready and fully permitted with “world-class tungsten resource”, “significant tin” and “premium aggregate co-products”.
Hemerdon has already had $300 million investment and needs a further $93m, expected to complete by the end of 2025.
The financing will cover construction of a new crushing, screening and ore sorting front-end, additional processing equipment, and full refurbishment of the pre-existing mineral processing facility components.
“The plan envisages restarting mining and production in late 2026, with a staged process to pre-production commissioning leading up to this,” said Tungsten West.
The restart will include new crushing and ore sorting infrastructure, processing module enhancements, and refurbishment of the existing mineral processing facility.
Hemerdon contains measured and indicated resources of 163.7 million tonnes at 0.14% tungsten trioxide (WO3) and 0.03% tin (Sn).
Measured, indicated and inferred categories hold 326.8Mt at 0.12% tungsten trioxide and 0.03% tin, while the total mineral resource comprises 39.7Mmtu of contained tungsten trioxide.
The plan outlines a base case life of mine of 11 years, followed by four years’ reclaiming stockpiles and a further 12 years of “premium” aggregate sales.
The plan projects post-tax internal rate of return of 29.3%, a net present value at a 7.5% discount of $190m, and total post-tax cash flows of $456m.
The mine has the capacity to process 3.5 million tonnes per annum of primary ore feed at fully permitted production.
This will produce an average 332,000 metric tonne units (mtu) of tungsten trioxide and 462 thousand tonnes of tin in concentrate per annum.
Also included will be environmental noise mitigation buildings and custom enclosures on all potential low- frequency noise generating equipment, and the use of lower noise generation mining truck trays and other equipment.
Expansion will target identified resources and “significantly” further improve project economics and extend the operational life of mine, potentially to more than 40 years.
There would also be additional “near and far field regional growth opportunities”.
Chief executive officer Jeff Court added that Hemerdon would “significantly strengthen the developed world’s supply chain” for the critical metal.
“The publication of the plan serves as reflection of our strong intent and focus to restart mining operations and tungsten production at Hemerdon.
“This plan offers a clear, staged and manageable approach to bring Hemerdon back into production.
“Further to this, I look forward to the completion of the updated feasibility study, expected in the coming months, which will confirm the attractive economics and strong investment case for the project, bolstering our position in ongoing conversations with a range of funding partners.”