Exploring Hemerdon: A Collaborative Visit to One of the World’s Largest Tungsten Resources

On a sunny September day, the Critical Minerals Challenge Centre Team, along with colleagues from the Critical Minerals Equipment Hub and Cornwall Mining and GeoResources Alliance visited Hemerdon mine near Plymouth, home of one of the largest tungsten resources globally – run by Tungsten West.

Tungsten West was founded in 2019, with the aim of restarting the world-class Hemerdon Tungsten-Tine Mine and we enjoyed a tour of the mine site, waste rock facility and mineral processing plant. It was a chance for our team of Innovation Fellows and academics to experience the site and get an idea of the scale and stage of the project. Engaging the perspectives of academics from across the spectrum of expertise, from geology and mining engineering to ecology and social sciences, is at the core of the Centre’s objectives and opportunities to work with partners like Tungsten West provide a rich breeding ground for ideas.

The team at Tungsten West generously gave up their time so that we could view the site alongside discussions with staff members from different perspectives – from the Environmental Manager to those who look after site security and manage the plant, as well as a Q&A with Jeffery Court, CEO and Marica Lyndon, Head of Operations & Stakeholder Engagement. Discussions on the geology, extraction, processing, biodiversity and community engagement sparked lots of potential project ideas for Centre research, which could support the company in its next phase and help realise the potential of this site.