Top10 Tungsten Mine Projects Outside China Ⅷ: Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine

The Barruecopardo tungsten mine is situated in the Castilla y Leon region of Spain. It is a large open-pit tungsten mine with a mining history of nearly 100 years. It is the largest tungsten mine project in Spain and is currently one of the top ten tungsten mine projects outside China.

The Barruecopardo project is developed by Saloro SLU. Ormonde holds a 30% interest in the project while the remaining stake is held with Oaktree Capital Management. A definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the tungsten mine was completed in February 2012. The open-pit mine is expected to produce 1.1 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), according to the DFS report.

The project began operations in August 2018 with the first successful trial of waste rock through the primary crusher. The rest of the crushing and screening plant, including associated electrical circuitry, was completed by September 2018. Commissioning of the screens and cone crushers commenced in November 2018 while construction activities were fully completed by June 2019.

According to the estimation of mineral resources in compliance with JORC requirements in 2011, the estimated mineral resources of Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine are 27.39 million tons, the average grade of tungsten trioxide is 0.26%, and the resource of tungsten trioxide is 71.214 million tons; the ore reserves are 8.69 million tons, the average grade of tungsten trioxide is 0.30%, and the reserves of tungsten trioxide are 26,100 tons.

Mining activities at the Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine began in the early 1930s and peaked in production between 1942 and 1945. Since then, they have been the main source of local economic resources. However, due to social security and economic instability, the Tungsten Mine ceased operations in 1982, leaving behind some infrastructure and polluting waste. Saloro, the current holder of Barruecopardo, was initially responsible for the disposal of these polluted wastes.

During the period 2005-2009, Saloro began to participate in the exploration and technical research activities of the Tungsten Mine and obtained full ownership of the mine in March 2011. After completing the feasibility study of the Baruecopaldo tungsten mine project in February 2012, Saloro obtained the environmental protection permit and mining right permit for the project in 2014 and signed a five-year agreement with Noble Group.

In 2015, Saloro started the financing and development of the Barruecopardo tungsten mine project outside China. It is planned to start production in 2016 and become a major tungsten supplier in Europe. However, affected by land-use rights disputes and fluctuations in the tungsten market, the project only began to enter a comprehensive construction and implementation stage in mid-2017.

In July 2019, the Barruecopardo Tungsten Mine Project outside China has completed the commissioning and officially started the first year of production increase operation. It is reported that the mine plans to have an annual production capacity of 2,600 tons of tungsten concentrate, the mine has a service life of 9 years, and the cash operating cost is US$119/ton.

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