In September 2015, the Hemerdon Tungsten and Tin Project in Devon was officially opened:
... attended by over 200 local and international guests and dignitaries, including representatives from the local community, UK Government, regulators, customers and shareholders, all of whom have played key roles in the successful delivery of the Project.
It was the first new metal mine in Great Britain for 45 years. DCC Leader Cllr John Hart said:
There is a long heritage of mining and quarrying in this part of the county and to mine one of the world's largest tungsten deposits will have a positive impact on the local and regional economy, which is good for jobs and the prosperity of Devon. It has taken some time for this project to come to fruition and the County Council has worked closely with Wolf Minerals to ensure the infrastructure and modern environmental controls required for the project are in place.
Even Aggregate Industries took a slice of the pie, benefitting from the construction of a new link road which took 6 months to build. But, as always, it was local residents who suffered the brunt of this new mine – particularly the "horrendous invasive unacceptable" impact of blasting and low frequency noise.
In the end, just three years on from all the hubris and fanfare, and as we posted only yesterday, all was not financially well with the owner Wolf Minerals. Today, workers have been sent home, police have been called on site, and the company has suspended its shares, announcing:
The Company has been unable to satisfactorily conclude its discussions with its key financial stakeholders and therefore is not in a position to meet its short term working capital requirements in order to continue operations at its Drakelands open pit mine. Consequently, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Wolf Minerals (UK) Limited, has ceased trading effective immediately.
Over £100 million has been poured into this failing venture and ever-expanding scar on the edge of Dartmoor. It was all to no avail; as one commentator remarked: "the economics of production at Hemerdon never really stacked up... rescue finance and bridging loans [were] needed, all in the hope that tin and tungsten prices would rise high enough to cover the embarrassment of Hemerdon’s complex geology and tricky processing."
But mining can be a financially precarious business. Those thinking of backing such ventures would do well to heed Mark Twain’s definition of a mine: "A hole in the ground with a liar at the top".
But mining can be a financially precarious business. Those thinking of backing such ventures would do well to heed Mark Twain’s definition of a mine: "A hole in the ground with a liar at the top".
EDIT 11.10.18 Questions have been raised about the issue of restoring the site. In 2016, DCC stated:
6.135 There is already in existence a restoration bond with Wolf Minerals which was required as a part of the original legal agreement associated with the 1986 planning permission. Whilst the NPPF states that such bonds are only required in exceptional circumstances, the large scale nature of the development combined with the volatile markets in metal prices indicated that the public interest should be protected. The value of the bond was calculated by the Mineral Valuer in 2014 to be in the region of £15 million and whilst it was not necessary to do so until the project was at its maximum “exposure” calculated to be years 5-7 of the project, the operator has already posted the full amount into an Escrow Account to ensure that the finance remains available for this purpose.DevonLive, on the other hand, reports:
The Environment Agency is to meet with bosses from Australian-owned Wolf Minerals (UK) Ltd to discuss what will become of the 850m by 450m wide opencast Drakelands pit, and who will pay for its eventual restoration to greenery.
