Commodities
Home›Commodities›Mining›Tungsten West wins $97M UK investment to restart Hemer…
Tungsten West wins $97M UK investment to restart Hemerdon mine
The restart plan targets full production in 2026 and calls for 350 direct jobs, with tungsten and tin concentrate already produced and final tests underway.
Tungsten West said the UK government will invest up to $97 million, about £71 million, to restart production at the historic Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, a supply effort aimed at building a secure domestic source of a critical mineral. Mining.com reports the funding comes via the National Wealth Fund and is designed to support the mine getting back to full production and to strengthen downstream supply for high technology, aerospace, energy and defense.
The company said Hemerdon supplied tungsten for both World War I and World War II, and it later continued intermittently before shutting down in 1944. Tungsten West and the National Wealth Fund entered a shareholder relationship agreement that gives the fund the chance to nominate one non-executive director to the company board, according to the report.
Tungsten West said it is working toward resuming full production at Hemerdon while already producing tungsten and tin concentrate over the past month, with final tests underway to start production in 2026. The company also said it is negotiating with a major downstream tungsten refiner.
The outlet added that Tungsten West shares rose sharply after the announcement, up about 17% to 50.25 pence by 12:24 p.m. in London, valuing the firm at about £627 million, or $855 million. The investment is expected to create 350 direct jobs as the mine returns to full output.