Monday, 9 September 2019

Drakelands’ new owner ‘looking to restore the site, not mine tin & tungsten’

The Plymouth Herald reports that "Plymouth's closed-down Drakelands mine has a new owner":
A newly set-up firm is associated with the company that lost £8m when the mine went belly up is now restoring the site.

We have previously posted about the tin and tungsten mine at Hemerdon near Plymouth. Drakelands opened to great fanfare in 2015, but warning bells were already ringing in 2016, and the mine ceased operating last year when Wolf Minerals appointed administrators having lost £100 million. It was the first new metal mine in Great Britain for 45 years. In 2015, Devon County Council Leader Cllr John Hart had 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… the County Council has worked closely with Wolf Minerals to ensure the infrastructure and modern environmental controls required for the project are in place.
And indeed, DCC did work closely with Wolf Minerals, approving planning applications despite the "horrendous invasive unacceptable" impact that blasting and low frequency noise was having on the lives of local residents.

After Wolf Minerals went to the wall, we asked Who would take on Drakelands? It was an important question, given that the restoration of a huge scar on the Devon landscape hung in the balance.


DCC had stated in 2016 that funds were available for restoration:
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…. The value of the bond was calculated by the Mineral Valuer in 2014 to be in the region of £15 million… the operator has already posted the full amount into an Escrow Account to ensure that the finance remains available for this purpose. 6.135
One company hit by Drakelands’ fallout was Hargreaves Services, who lost £8m relating to Wolf’s failure. In July this year, Hargreaves reported:
As previously announced, in October 2018, one of the Group's customers, Wolf Minerals Limited, announced that it had ceased trading and subsequently it went into liquidation. As a result, the Group incurred an exceptional charge of GBP8.1m. The Group continues to have a small presence at the Hemerdon mine site where it is carrying out minor maintenance and asset safeguarding activities. The future of the site remains unclear, but Hargreaves is well positioned to secure any restoration or other work which may arise in due course. Hargreaves is not considering operating the mine.
Given the "cost of reopening the mine being put at about £40million" it’s not clear who would. Liquidators of Wolf Minerals have also been busy:


The Plymouth Herald reports that Hargreaves has now bought the mine, with a view to winning restoration work, not mining tin and tungsten.
A Department for the Environment spokesman said: “Some assets, including the mine, was bought from Wolf Minerals by Drakelands Restoration Ltd earlier this year. I believe the firm is coordinating the restoration of the area.”
Drakelands Restoration is one of a number of Hargreaves group companies listed under Hargreaves Corporate Director Ltd at Companies House.
Will that be the last of mineral working in the area? Don’t hold your breath. In August, planning application DCC/4149/2019 appeared for land south west of Drakelands Mine, Sparkwell, for "exploratory trenching for mineral exploration."

EDIT 11.9.19 Heavy earth-moving equipment arrives on site:


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