Tungsten West Breaks Ground for Hemerdon Mine's TOMRA XRT Ore Sorter

Tungsten West says it has broken ground on the first sod for a TOMRA XRT Ore Sorter (XRT) sensor-based ore sorter at its Hemerdon mine in Devon, England. The company said the event marks another important step in its plans to upgrade and refurbish the project's processing plant.

Hemerdon is the third-largest tungsten resource in the world and a former producing mine that operated from 2015-2018, West Tungsten said. The company purchased the Hemerdon mine in 2019 and has since completed a bankable feasibility study demonstrating extensive reserves of approximately 63.3Mt of tungsten and 0.03% tin, as well as 37.4Mt of saleable aggregates. The company estimates the current mine life to be 18.5 years, with the opportunity to extend through future investment.

As announced earlier this month, the company received significant long lead time equipment items, including seven XRT ore sorters, which will form part of the upgraded equipment the company plans to install at the front end of the processing plant. The company says the TOMRA XRT Ore Sorter will significantly improve and streamline operations, minimize plant downtime, improve recovery rates and deliver a range of environmental, social, and governance benefits once production resumes.

After extensive test work, Tungsten West commissioned TOMRA to provide seven units to handle the throughput of the mine operation. This included six working units and one standby unit. The order and deposit for these units were placed in 2021 and the units have now been shipped to the UK pending final transfer to Hemerdon where they will be installed at the front end of the processing plant.

In addition, the company is pleased to announce the appointment of James McFarlane, who previously served as the company's Director of Technology and Operations, to the position of Managing Director.

Max Denning, CEO of Tungsten West, said, "We are very pleased to break ground at Hemerdon mine this week, marking an important milestone in the restart of the project. Securing access to two critical and important minerals for the UK and Western Hemisphere has never been more profound. We are also delighted to announce James as our new Managing Director; his wealth of experience will prove invaluable to the company as we get closer to our first production at Hemerdon."

Tungsten West Ltd. is a mining development company focused on restarting the world-class Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine in South Devon, England. The company will focus on restarting production at the Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine to meet this demand over the next 12 months as demand for strategic metals increases rapidly due to the significant use of tungsten and tin in new technologies.

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