[Ferro-Alloys.com] Wolf Minerals, which is planning to re-open the Hemerdon tungsten mine in Devon in South West England, reports that it has received the first tranche of an US$82 million funding package from Australia’s Resource Capital Fund.

 

Aerial view of Hemerdon tungsten mine in Devon, UK

 

The mine was last worked commercially in 1944, but is estimated to have one of the world’s largest tungsten and tin deposits reserves of 401.4 million tonnes grading 0.13% tungsten and 0.02% tin. A mineable ore reserve has also been calculated looking at a base case open pit and a cut off grade of 0.063% tungsten of 26.7 million tonnes of proven and probable ore grading 0.19% tungsten and 0.03% tin.

 

Wolf Minerals plans to produce around 345,000 metric tonne units of tungsten trioxide in concentrates and 450 tonnes of tin in concentrates annually. Mining could commence by late 2014/early 2015. There are off-take agreements covering 80% of the tungsten output with Austria's Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten (a Sandvik company) and the USA's Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. (a division of Plansee Group).