W Resources Granted License for Régua Tungsten Mine Project in Portugal

European mining company W Resources PLC stated that its wholly-owned subsidiary Iberian Resources Portugal (IRP) has obtained a mining license for Régua tungsten mine project from the Portuguese Energy and Geology Directorate (DGEG).

Régua is a significant high-grade tungsten deposit that is scalable at low cost and requires limited capital. The tungsten, tin and gold mining company said in a statement that the approval of environmental research will allow it to obtain a license for underground mining projects, which is a critical condition for mining.

The resources at the Régua tungsten mine project are 4.47 million tons and the grade is 0.27% WO₃ (tungsten trioxide), including the indicative resource of 3.74 million tons and the grade is 0.28% WO₃. The inferred resource is 720,000 tons and the grade is 0.21% WO₃.

The trial mining operation for Régua started in early March 2020, but due to COVID-19 restrictions and the trial mining permit expiring in June, it had to be stopped. W Resources said that, assuming no further COVID-19 impact, it is expected to start production in the second half of 2022.

It is estimated that the annual output will reach about 1,000 tons of tungsten concentrate, which will increase the company's total concentrate output, reduce the average cost per ton, and increase sales.

Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources, commented: “For Régua, this is a long-awaited milestone. We look forward to introducing our progress to shareholders. With the start of production in the second half of 2022, we will transition to Owning two active tungsten mines will further increase production, revenue and profitability."

The group also announced that the Assumar gold mine exploration license has now been granted in the CAA Portalegre project. This 267 square kilometer area is adjacent to the trial mining license area of the São Martinho gold project and is believed to include potential extensions of known mineralization systems and new potential areas.

The company stated that the application for the trial mining license for the São Martinho gold mine project is still being reviewed by the DGEG and is expected to be approved in the near future.

The strategy of W Resources is to establish a European mining company focused on providing long-term production of tungsten, a key strategic metal with strong market fundamentals.

The company hosts four projects in Spain and Portugal, and three tungsten projects, including La Parrilla in Spain, Régua tungsten mine project and Tarouca in Portugal, and CAA/Portalegre gold projects in Portugal.

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