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Tungsten West PLC announced on 30 May 2025 the conclusion of its development and economic plan to restart mining operations at its Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine. The plan details an estimated US$93 million financing requirement for an 11-year primary mine life, targeting annual processing of 3.5 million tonnes of ore and average production of 332,000 mtu WO3 and 462 kt Sn from years 2-11. The company expects to complete fundraising by the end of 2025, with production commencing in late 2026.
| Date | 30 May 2025 |
| Time | 07:00:09 |
| Category | Corporate updates |
| ID | 6974K |
30 May 2025
("Tungsten West", the "Company" or the "Group") Development and Economic Plan for Hemerdon
Tungsten West plc (LON:TUN), the mining company focussed on restarting production at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine ("Hemerdon" or the "Project") in Devon, UK, has concluded its development and economic plan to restart mining operations (the "Plan"), which is presented in this announcement.
The Company is releasing this Plan, associated summary economics, resources and reserves ahead of the completion of a full updated feasibility study, which is currently being prepared by AMC Consultants (UK) Limited ("AMC"), supported by a leading team of industry experts including Lycopodium (ADP) on mineral process design, Mining Plus on the Mineral Resources and AMC on the Ore Reserves.
A presentation with more detail on the Plan will be available shortly on the Company's website: www.tungstenwest.com.
· Tungsten West has a globally significant, fully permitted, shovel ready tungsten resource that can be brought into production quickly and at low cost to provide a source of strategic and critical minerals
· Hemerdon is expected to produce approximately 20% of global supply of primary tungsten from outside the People's Republic of China ("China") and will commence operations approximately 12 months from funding
· Currently in discussions with several parties regarding the financing of the Project, and the Company expects to complete its fundraising by the end of 2025
· The Project has a significantly enhanced stakeholder and local community engagement focus
· Project restart economics:
o Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 29.3%
o Net Present Value at a 7.5% discount rate ("NPV7.5%") of US$190 million
o Life of mine post-tax cash flow of US$456 million
o Base case 11-year life of mine, 4 years of subsequent stockpile reclaim and an additional 12 years of on-going premium aggregate sales
· Mine expansion to target identified resources at Hemerdon ("Hemerdon Futures") to significantly further improve Project economics and extend the operational life of mine, potentially to over 40 years, with further near and far field regional growth opportunities
· The total financing requirement for restarting mining operations at Hemerdon is currently estimated at US$93 million, benefitting from approximately US$300 million of previously invested capital, including significant open pit pre-stripping
· Financing to be deployed building a completely new crushing, screening and ore sorting front-end, additional processing equipment modules to enhance performance, cost and recovery, and a full refurbishment of the pre-existing Mineral Processing Facility ("MPF") components
· Inclusion of environmental noise mitigation buildings and custom enclosures on all potential low- frequency noise ("LFN") generating equipment, removal of higher propensity LFN equipment, and utilisation of lower noise generation mining truck trays and other equipment to improve sustainable operations
· Pre-production commissioning process enables various sections of the MPF to be commissioned and tested in phases, from the back end of the circuit forward to the new-build front end, reducing the start- up project risk
· Approval from the Environment Agency for limited trial running of select components of the MPF for re-processing 2,500 tonnes of pre-deposited tailings and other on-site material
· Capacity to process 3.5 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") of primary ore feed at fully permitted production, to produce, on average 332,000 metric tonne units ("mtu") of tungsten trioxide (WO3) and 462 thousand tonnes ("kt") of tin ("Sn") in concentrate per annum
· Installed capacity capable of low capital expansion to approximately 500,000 mtu of WO3 per annum
"The publication of the Plan serves as reflection of our strong intent and focus to restart mining operations and tungsten production at Hemerdon. At full capacity, Hemerdon is expected to produce over 20% of the global non- China supply of tungsten and will significantly strengthen the developed world's supply chain for this critical metal.
"This Plan offers a clear, staged and manageable approach to bring Hemerdon back into production. Further to this, I look forward to the completion of the updated feasibility study, expected in the coming months, which will confirm the attractive economics and strong investment case for the Project, bolstering our position in ongoing conversations with a range of funding partners.
"I would like to thank our shareholders, loyal employees, internal and external consultants and all our stakeholders for their continued support."
Due to export restrictions imposed by China, there remains an extremely limited supply of tungsten, in any form, currently being exported from China. The market index (65% ammonium paratungstate, ("APT"), free on-board Rotterdam) has breached US$400/mtu and the expectation is for further rises as the market adjusts to this supply disruption. Underlying this more recent trend, there is a significant and increasing gap between Western world demand and supply for tungsten, which China has previously filled. The export restrictions imposed by China further highlight the supply chain dependence of the Western world for critical dual-use metals, such as tungsten, that find application in key industries such as automotive manufacturing, defence and energy generation.
Hemerdon, a construction-ready, fully permitted, world-class tungsten resource, with significant tin and premium aggregate co-products, is extremely well placed to meet this demand shortfall in a timely manner and has the potential to generate over 20% of non-China tungsten supply. The significant prior investment in Hemerdon of over US$300 million in infrastructure, tailings storage and mine waste facilities, MPF and the significant pre-stripping of the open pit, positions Tungsten West for a short lead time to production of less than 12 months from the start of construction, minimising the funding requirements to implement the Plan. The Plan envisages restarting mining and production in late 2026, with a staged process to pre-production commissioning leading up to this.
The economics of the Project provide an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 29.3% and a NPV7.5% of US$190 million. The base case tungsten price used is US$400/mtu which is the low-end range of current market prices. The feasibility study is targeting a steady state all-in sustaining cash cost ("AISC") of production for tungsten of US$144/tonne ("t") (inclusive of by-products) placing Hemerdon in the lower cost quartile of global producers.
|
Parameter |
Reference Data |
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Commodity price |
Tungsten (APT Reference Price): US$400/mtu Sn: US$32,500/t Premium Aggregate £19.00/t (ex-works) |
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|
Mineral Resources |
Measured & Indicated: 163.7 million tonnes ("Mt") at 0.14% WO3 and 0.03% Sn Measured, Indicated & Inferred: 326.8Mt at 0.12% WO3 and 0.03% Sn Total Mineral Resource comprising 39.7Mmtu of contained WO3 |
|
|
Ore Reserve |
Ore contained in the Stage 3 open pit (excluding potential Hemerdon Futures extensions into Stage 4 and 5 North and South Extensions) Granite: 35.6Mt at 0.18% WO3 and 0.03% Sn (29.2Mt Proven) Killas: 35.0Mt at 0.11% WO3 and 0.03% Sn (7.7Mt Proven) Total Ore Reserve comprising 70.7Mt at 0.15% WO3 and 0.03% Sn, for a total of 10.3Mmtu of contained WO3 |
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Mining and Processing Strategy |
Mining to the extents of the Stage 3 open pit (currently excludes Hemerdon Futures) Primary mining period of 11 years Stockpile reclaim of an additional 4 years On-going premium aggregate sales of a further 12 years Potential future extension of the mining operation to Stage 4 and 5 via the Hemerdon Futures project accesses the larger extent of the Mineral Resource material and significantly extends the Project life to over 40 years |
|
|
LoM mining inventory with average head grade |
Granite Ore Processed: 35.6Mt at 0.18% WO3 and 0.03% Sn Killas Ore Processed: 22.1Mt at 0.11% WO3 and 0.03% Sn (we expect further processing of Killas Ore Reserves, which will have been mined to stockpile, but the strategy is subject to further review) |
|
|
LoM processing profile |
Ramp up (13 months): 2.7Mtpa Steady state (Years 2-11): 3.5Mtpa Killas Processing (Years 12-15): 4.9Mtpa (plant throughput increased for lower grade and recovery) |
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|
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Premium Aggregate sales begin in year 1, increasing to an average of 0.35Mtpa until year 15, after which they increase to 0.5Mtpa for a further 12 years |
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LoM total production (payable metal and aggregates) |
WO3: 4.6Mmtu Sn: 6,442t Premium Aggregate (sales): 10.9Mt Premium Aggregate (production): 30.8Mt Total Aggregate (production): 45.8Mt |
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Steady-state annual production (average payable metal years 2-11) |
WO3: 332,000mtu Sn: 462t Premium Aggregate (sales): 0.35Mt Premium Aggregate (production): 1.9Mt |
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|
LoM post-tax free cash flow |
US$456 million |
|
|
Annual post-tax-free cash flow (average years 2-11) |
US$32.6 million |
|
|
Pre-production capital and operating costs |
US$93.0 million |
|
|
AISC costs |
Steady state US$144/mtu Total Project US$167/mtu |
|
|
Post-tax NPV7.5% |
US$190 million |
|
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Post-tax IRR |
29.3% |
|
There is further scope for the extension of the current open pit towards the north and south via the Hemerdon Futures project, whereby the Company plans to extend the current operations along the already defined JORC resource, which remains open at depth and along strike in the southern direction. The Hemerdon Futures project is anticipated to extend the total operational life, including stockpile reclaim and premium aggregate sales, to over 40 years. This additional up-side will be included in the upcoming feasibility study and further enhances the Project economics beyond those incorporated in this Plan. Further to this, there are additional near and far field opportunities for even further Project extensions.
The total financing requirement for restarting mining operations at Hemerdon is currently estimated to be US$93.0 million not including any financing-related charges (the "Restart Financing"). The Company has already held discussions with a number of government-backed funding agencies in the UK, US and EU. In addition, the Company has opened discussions with specialist mining funders as well as with end-users and intermediaries of tungsten. The Company expects to close the Restart Financing by the end of 2025.
The Company is seeking additional funding to support activities through to securing full Restart Financing. It is expected to issue Tranche H of the Convertible Loan Notes ("CLN") shortly to meet this funding requirement (the "CLN Financing"). Hannam & Partners is acting as financial adviser and broker in connection with the Restart.
Financing and the CLN financing, and any interested party should contact Hannam & Partners at the contact details set out below.
The Company and its internal and external consultants, including a specialist metallurgical peer review team of Gary Patrick, James Turner and Mike Hallewell, have focussed heavily on addressing the risks identified from prior operations at Hemerdon, whilst looking to optimise the process from the previous feasibility studies of the Company. A summary of the key improvements incorporated into the Plan are:
· Advancing pit design stages to target fresh granite ore as a priority to ensure a better quality and more consistent ore feed
· More flexibility for in-pit ore sourcing, with an increased number of smaller excavators
· Increased run-of-mine ("ROM") blending capability and stockpile rehandle to ensure a stable feed for the MPF
· Addition of a new-build front-end crushing and screening facility using standard jaw and cone crushers, replacing the not fit-for-purpose hybrid rolls crushers originally installed
· Buffer crushed ore stockpile to increase the flexibility within the MPF to minimise downtime
· Removal of the redundant historic scrubber from the circuit which generated excess fines material
· Integration of new technologies of ore sorters and In-line Pressure Jigs ("IPJs") to significantly reduce the required throughput and provide an uplift of the mined head grade prior to down-stream processing
· Material not accepted for further down-stream processing by the ore sorters is made available for sale as premium aggregates to the construction market
· Refurbishment of the existing fines circuit and inclusion of an ultra-fines recovery module to further improve recovery prior to tailings disposal
· Full refurbishment of the utilised components of the existing MPF facility
· Significantly reduced dependency on previously installed three stage Dense Media Separation ("DMS") units to a single stage through use of ore-sorters and IPJs to pre-concentrate ore
· Inclusion of environmental noise mitigation buildings and custom enclosures on all potential LFN generating equipment as part of the MPF Environmental Permit issued in June 2024, and removal of higher propensity LFN equipment from the MPF
· Incorporation of sunken crushing and screening units, reduced mine and front-end crushing operating hours and utilisation of lower noise generating mining truck trays and other ancillary equipment to further mitigate the impact on the local community
Various risk mitigation initiatives have also been employed to manage project execution risk, including advanced discussions with an experienced UK engineering procurement and construction ("EPC") contractor on a guaranteed maximum price basis to build and commission the new front end-crushing and ore sorting facility. An announcement on this development is expected in due course.
In addition to this, the Company will run a phased pre-production commissioning process, enabling various sections of the MPF to be commissioned and tested in phases, from the back end of the circuit forward to the new-build front end. To this end, the Company has received approval from the Environment Agency for limited trial running of select components of the refinery and the fines gravity circuit, with approval to recover and re- process a significant quantity (2,500t) of pre-deposited tailings from the tailings storage facility. The Company also intends to process a further 100t of fines material as part of this initiative, included in the 2,500t trial quantity.
The Company remains fully engaged with the Environment Agency on several facets of the project advancement, and management strongly welcomes the collaborative and supportive approach and engagement it has received at all levels within the Environment Agency.
At fully permitted production, the mine has the capacity to process 3.5Mtpa of primary ore feed and produce, on average over the primary mining period, approximately 332,000mtu of WO3 and 462kt of Sn per annum. Installed name-plate capacity for the operation will be in excess of 500,000mtu of WO3 per annum, which can be realised with minimal capital spend, providing further expansion and optimisation potential in the future.
The Company is progressing discussions with a number of pre-existing and new offtake customers to provide enhanced security of supply and further optimising the project risk and overall economics.
The updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") is summarised below. This is for a total contained quantity of tungsten of 39.7Mmtu including in-pit, granite stockpiles and tailings.
The Hemerdon project is one of the largest, if not the largest, CRIRSCO compliant tungsten resource globally with an active advancement plan. In addition to this, Hemerdon also has significant quantities of co-product tin, also a critical metal.
|
Domain |
Measured |
Indicated |
Inferred |
||||||||||||
|
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
WO3 (Mmtu) |
Sn (%) |
Sn (kt) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
WO3 (Mmtu) |
Sn (%) |
Sn (kt) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
WO3 (Mmtu) |
Sn (%) |
Sn (kt) |
|
|
Granite |
34.3 |
0.18 |
6.0 |
0.03 |
11.2 |
76.6 |
0.15 |
11.3 |
0.02 |
17.4 |
28.4 |
0.12 |
3.4 |
0.03 |
7.5 |
|
Killas |
8.5 |
0.11 |
1.0 |
0.03 |
3.0 |
43.7 |
0.10 |
4.4 |
0.03 |
12.8 |
131.5 |
0.10 |
13.0 |
0.02 |
32.0 |
|
Granite Stockpiles |
0.6 |
0.18 |
0.1 |
0.05 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
|
Sub-Total (1) |
43.4 |
0.17 |
7.1 |
0.03 |
14.5 |
120 |
0.13 |
15.7 |
0.02 |
30.2 |
159.9 |
0.10 |
16.4 |
0.02 |
39.5 |
|
Mine Waste Facility (2) |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
3.2 |
0.18 |
0.6 |
0.02 |
0.8 |
|
Total |
43.4 |
0.17 |
7.1 |
0.03 |
14.5 |
120 |
0.13 |
15.7 |
0.02 |
30.2 |
163.1 |
0.11 |
17.0 |
0.02 |
40.3 |
|
|
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|
Domain |
Measured & Indicated |
Measured, Indicated & Inferred |
|
||||||||||||
|
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
WO3 (Mmtu) |
Sn (%) |
Sn (kt) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
WO3 (Mmtu) |
Sn (%) |
Sn (kt) |
||||||
|
Granite |
110.9 |
0.16 |
17.3 |
0.03 |
28.6 |
139.3 |
0.15 |
20.7 |
0.03 |
36.1 |
|||||
|
Killas |
52.2 |
0.10 |
5.4 |
0.03 |
15.8 |
183.7 |
0.10 |
18.3 |
0.03 |
47.7 |
|||||
|
Granite Stockpiles |
0.6 |
0.18 |
0.1 |
0.05 |
0.3 |
0.6 |
0.18 |
0.1 |
0.05 |
0.3 |
|||||
|
Sub-Total (1) |
163.7 |
0.14 |
22.8 |
0.03 |
44.7 |
323.6 |
0.12 |
39.1 |
0.03 |
84.1 |
|||||
|
Mine Waste Facility (2) |
0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
0.00 |
0.0 |
3.2 |
0.00 |
0.6 |
0.02 |
0.8 |
|||||
|
Total |
163.7 |
0.14 |
22.8 |
0.03 |
44.7 |
326.8 |
0.12 |
39.7 |
0.03 |
84.9 |
|||||
· The Qualified Person for the MRE up to Sub-Total (1) is Zoe Scannell BSc (Hons), MSc, MCSM, FGS, QMR MIMMM, MAusIMM who was working for Mining Plus (UK) during the preparation of the MRE and currently an employee of Bara Consulting Ltd. The MRE has an effective date of 30th August 2024.
· Tailings MRE listed as Mine Waste Facility, as per note (2), in the MRE summary table and was carried out by Dr Matthew Field of Mining Plus in 2021. NOTE: the Qualified Person for the non-Mine Waste Facility items, Zoe Scannell, was not involved with the Mine Waste Facility MRE reporting.
· The preceding statements of Mineral Resources DOESconform to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition.
· All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes.
· Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.
· MRE tonnes reported is that material which sits within a conceptual pit shell used to support RPEEE, generated using the following assumptions and parameters; WO3 MTU price of USD$500, payability (78%), royalty (2.25%), transport cost (£211), recovery (55.6% - Granite, 50.5% Killas), mining cost (£3.06/t - Granite, £4.26/t - Killas), processing cost (£6.50/t - Granite, £4.60/t - Killas), G&A (£2.24/t - Granite, £1.58/t Killas) above a cut-off grade of 0.064% WO3 EQ (equivalent) for Granite and 0.063% for Killas. (WO3_EQ is calculated as [(Sn*0.379)+WO3]).
|
Ore Type |
Proven |
Probable |
Total |
||||||
|
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
Sn (%) |
Tonne (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
Sn (%) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
WO3 (%) |
Sn (%) |
|
|
Granite Oxide |
0.7 |
0.12 |
0.06 |
0.0 |
0.12 |
0.01 |
0.7 |
0.12 |
0.06 |
|
Granite Transition |
5.5 |
0.17 |
0.04 |
0.0 |
0.13 |
0.05 |
5.5 |
0.17 |
0.04 |
|
Granite Fresh |
23.0 |
0.19 |
0.03 |
6.4 |
0.19 |
0.03 |
29.4 |
0.19 |
0.03 |
|
Granite Total |
29.2 |
0.18 |
0.03 |
6.5 |
0.19 |
0.03 |
35.6 |
0.18 |
0.03 |
|
Killas |
7.7 |
0.11 |
0.04 |
27.3 |
0.11 |
0.03 |
35.0 |
0.11 |
0.03 |
|
Total |
36.9 |
0.17 |
0.03 |
33.8 |
0.12 |
0.03 |
70.7 |
0.15 |
0. 03 |
· The Competent Person for the Ore Reserves is Alan Turner BSc, MSc, MIMMM, CEng of AMC Consultants. The mineral reserves have an effective date of 1st May 2025.
· The preceding statements of Ore Reserves DOES conform to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition. Ore Reserves are estimated using an APT price of US$350/mtu WO3 and tin price of US$30,000/t Sn.
· All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes.
· Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures.
The information in this RNS that relates to Mineral Resources (excluding Tailings Mineral Resources) is based on information compiled by Ms Zoe Scannell, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, Fellow of the Geological Society of London and Member of the IOM3 (QMR). Ms Scannell is employed by Bara Consulting Limited, and independent of Tungsten West. Ms Scannell has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Ms Scannell consents to the inclusion in this RNS of the matters based on her information in the form and context in which it appears.
For more information on the Project, including the JORC Table 1, please see the following page of the Company's website: https://www.tungstenwest.com/project
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014 as amended by the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Enquiries
|
Tungsten West
Alistair Stobie
Tel: +44 (0) 1752 278500 |
Strand Hanson
(Nominated Adviser and Financial Adviser) James Spinney / James Dance / Abigail Wennington Tel: +44 (0) 207 409 3494 |
|
BlytheRay
(Financial PR)
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray Tel: +44(0) 20 7138 3204 Email: [email protected]
Hannam & Partners
(Broker) Andrew Chubb / Matt Hasson / Jay Ashfield Tel: +44 (0)20 7907 8500 |
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