The company which owns Plymouth’s vast Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine is set to create jobs after it started producing and selling aggregates for the construction industry while it plans for full mining operations to restart.
Tungsten West Plc has commissioned a temporary plant to produce aggregates, a by-product of the metal mining process which, due to technical innovation planned at the upgraded Hemerdon process plant, now represent a secondary cash-flow opportunity as well as assisting the company in its “no-waste” target.
A newly installed Terex AggWash 60 plant was commissioned at the end of November 2021 and will operate whilst the Hemerdon process plant is redeveloped and a separate full-scale aggregates plant is built.
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Aggregates West, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tungsten West, is currently selling an average of 1,000 tonnes per day through its partnership with GRS (Roadstone) Limited, a market leading construction materials supplier, into the 海角视频 construction sector.
Tungsten West has formed a mutually beneficial partnership with GRS in order to vertically integrate the company into the 海角视频 aggregate supply chain.
The materials supplied from Hemerdon are sustainably produced and will aid the country in meeting the demand for aggregate material.
The partnership with GRS will create important cash flow and job opportunities and guarantee a long-lasting supply of aggregates to manufacturers, ensuring the 海角视频 is increasingly self-sufficient.
The company will progressively scale its aggregate operations until the full-scale aggregates plant is commissioned in 2022.
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Max Denning, chief executive of Tungsten West, said: “The aggregates business will be an important secondary cash flow generating operation at Hemerdon that importantly will utilise surplus material from our mining operation.
“The temporary operation will allow Tungsten West to build market share and demonstrate the quality of our aggregate material and, once in full scale operation, we will be one of the first mining companies in the world to implement the dual production and sale of tungsten and tin, together with aggregate product.
“Through our partnership with GRS, we will have the ability to meet growing market demand for aggregate material in the 海角视频, aiding the country in becoming more self-sufficient.
“By working closely with environmental bodies and Devon Council, we have ensured that our operations meet the highest ESG standards. We look forward to updating the market further on our progress as we move towards the formal restart of Hemerdon and scaling our aggregates business.”
Cash flow is being generated via the sale of the aggregates, which have been produced through processing stockpiles left by Wolf Minerals (海角视频) Limited, the previous operator of Hemerdon
This income is forecasted to progressively increase as the company builds market share and product is introduced to the wider 海角视频 construction sector. Aggregate production is expected to scale in line with ramp up of the project’s mining operations.
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Through technical innovation, Tungsten West will introduce X-ray transmission ore-sorting to its upgraded processing plant, which will substantially reduce processing cost by efficiently rejecting the non-ore bearing material, representing 70% of the ore fed to the sorters. The rejects, or by-products, will be processed further into market ready, 海角视频 aggregate manufacturer certified aggregate products, commonly used in the creation of concrete, ballast, asphalt and the wider construction sector.
Hemerdon was in operation between 2015 and 2018 and hosts a world class ore body, representing the third largest tungsten resource globally.