The company looking to revive a mine in Devon that holds a rare critical metal has warned if it does not secure 'major' funding this year it could be unable to pay its debts.
Tungsten West told investors on Thursday (September 4) a "material uncertainty" exists that may cast doubt on its ability to continue "as a going concern". It said it was in talks with financing partners to provide extra capital.
The statement was made as the company published its full-year financial results. For the year ending March 31, 2025, Tungsten West had cash in the bank of just £0.02m, although this had increased to £2.1m by late August this year.
For the last financial year, the group made an operating loss of £15.94m - a jump from a loss of £7.25m a year earlier.
During the period, the company raised £6.7m through the issue of convertible loan notes and it raised a further £5.3m in July.
Tungsten West is still in the pre-production phase of operations and meets its day-to-day working capital requirements by utilising cash reserves from investment made in the group.
"The board remains grateful to the small group of investors who continue to actively support the project," said Stephen Harrison, non-executive chair.
"With a fully permitted site, independently verified revised plans published and growing demand for tungsten, we are confident that our project will be attractive to further investors."
Tungsten West said it was "actively" working to raise the US$93m required to fund the restarting of mining operations.
The company is planning to restart production at the Hemerdon mine near Plympton by 2026 if it can secure funding by the end of the year. It claims the mine could produce 20% of the global supply of primary tungsten outside of China once operational.
The announcement comes just days after it was revealed the US government is considering an investment of up to £70m in the Hemerdon mine.
Tungsten West has attracted interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the official export credit agency of the US government. The funds would form a substantial portion of the capital needed to restart production.
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