Overview
Stage | Restarting |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Production Start | ... |
Mine Life | 27 years (as of Jan 1, 2023) |
The Hemerdon Tungsten-Tin Mine, formerly known as Drakelands Mine or the Hemerdon Ball or Hemerdon Bal Mine, was an operating tungsten and tin mine between August 2015 and October 2018. Tungsten West is focused on restarting production at the Hemerdon mine. On 16th January 2023, Tungsten West released the summary of results from its updated and independently reviewed Feasibility Study 2022.
The Hemerdon will produce non-ferrous mineral concentrates comprising of tungsten as Wolframite and tin as Cassiterite. The Tungsten West will produce secondary aggregates, a by-product from mining.
On 5 February 2024, Tungsten West received a draft permit from the Environment Agency for the operation of the Mineral Processing Facility ("MPF") at Hemerdon. This represents a significant step towards commencing the updated Feasibility Study.
The mine has been categorised as a world class deposit due to the scale of the deposit within a global context. |
Source:
p. 4
Company | Interest | Ownership |
Tungsten West plc
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
Drakelands Restoration Ltd.
(operator)
|
100 %
|
Direct
|
Tungsten West plc is the owner and operator of Hemerdon Mine. The company has three subsidiary companies, Drakelands Restoration Limited, Tungsten West Services Limited and Aggregates West Limited which all provide mining services to Drakelands Restoration Limited to operate Hemerdon Mine.
Due to the company becoming a public limited company the EP’s on site will be held with Drakelands Restoration Limited, therefore a change in operator request is submitted with this application to change the operator from Tungsten West Limited (now Tungsten West plc) to Drakelands Restoration Limited for the operation of the MPF at Hemerdon Mine.
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Intrusion related
- Hydrothermal
- Vein / narrow vein
Summary:
The Hemerdon deposit comprises a granite intrusive surrounded by Devonian metasediments, metavolcanics, and mafics which are collectively defined as Killas. The upper portion of the granite has been altered, resulting in kaolinization of the upper granite. Mineralization is primarily situated within the granite, with lower amounts of contained metal currently defined in the Killas.
Whilst the overall geology is well understood, the mineralization itself is more complex. Exploration of the deposit has previously largely focused on the tungsten mineralization, with less work undertaken to understand the tin content.
The deposit is centralised around a small granite dyke to the immediate SW of the larger Dartmoor, and Crown Hill granites, and is older by some margin, with recent studies providing a date of 292Ma placing it as the oldest granite in SW England. The granite is oriented NNE-SSW over a length of 1,200m and averages 150m wide in the mine portion, but broadens at its South Western extremity up to 450m and is complemented by series of smaller granite dykes to the NE.
Proximity to major NW-SE fault zones that controlled migration of early melts from lower / middle / upper crust; dilation along an earlier NNE-SSW segment allowed emplacement of the Hemerdon Dyke and formed persistent 'chimney' (magmatic-hydrothermal fluid pathway) during continued crystallisation of deeper magma batches; faults repeatedly reactivated as transfers.
Summary:
Tungsten West is focused on restarting production at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine.
The Hemerdon deposit consists of a steeply dipping mineralized granite approximately 1.2 km in strike and 100 m wide. Mining has been undertaken though conventional, contractor operated open-pit methods (drill, blast, load-and-haul) which commenced in 2015 and ceased in October 2018.
The Ore Reserves were subject to a pit optimisation study conducted by Tungsten West during October to November 2022. This was followed by detailed pit design, pushback design and LOM plan by the Tungsten West and Mining Plus UK Ltd ("MPUK") in addition to financial modelling. All of the studies illustrated that the Project is robust and also illustrated that there is significant potential upside present.
The Tungsten West plans to stockpile the lower grade (but still economic) killas material until completion of the granite mining phase, at which time the killas stockpiles will be reclaimed and fed through the Mineral Processing Facility ("MPF"). The resulting schedule provides a mining life of approximately 27 years. Granite processing will last 17 years and there is a further period of killas processing which lasts just under 10 years after the last granite ore is processed.
The total updated Ore Reserve (Proved and Probable) for Hemerdon is 101 Mt at 0.14% WO3 and 0.03% Sn, reported above an Ore Reserve cut-off grade of 0.0742% WO3 Equivalent ("WO3 Eq") for the ........
Source:
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Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Source:
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Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | Avg. Annual |
Tin
|
t
| ...... |
WO3
|
t
| ...... |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Annual ore mining rate
| ...... |
Annual processing capacity
| ...... |
* According to 2022 study.
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Reserves at November 15, 2022:
Mineral Reserves are reported with cut-off grade of 0.0742% WO3 Equivalent for the Granite deposit and 0.0689% WO3 Eq for the Killas deposit.
Mineral Resources are reported with cut-off grade of 0.0640% WO3 Equivalent for the Granite deposit and 0.0620% WO3 Eq for the Killas deposit.
Mineral Resources are reported inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
Proven
|
41 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Proven
|
41 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.17 %
|
Probable
|
60.2 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Probable
|
60.2 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.13 %
|
Proven & Probable
|
101.2 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Proven & Probable
|
101.2 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.14 %
|
Measured
|
42.8 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Measured
|
42.8 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.16 %
|
Measured
|
42.8 Mt
|
WO3Eq
|
0.18 %
|
Indicated
|
128.6 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Indicated
|
128.6 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.13 %
|
Indicated
|
128.6 Mt
|
WO3Eq
|
0.14 %
|
Inferred
|
180.1 Mt
|
Tin
|
0.03 %
|
Inferred
|
180.1 Mt
|
WO3
|
0.1 %
|
Inferred
|
180.1 Mt
|
WO3Eq
|
0.11 %
|
Commodity Production Costs:
| Commodity | Average |
C1 cash costs
|
WO3
|
......
|
Assumed price
|
WO3
|
......
|
* According to 2022 study / presentation.
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2022 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :
Metrics | Units | LOM Total |
Pre-Production capital costs
|
$M GBP
|
......
|
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM)
|
$M GBP
|
......
|
After-tax NPV @ 5%
|
$M GBP
|
......
|
After-tax IRR, %
|
|
......
|
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