It was only in September that the Plymouth Herald reported "Plymouth’s Drakelands mine has a new owner – but it is unlikely any tungsten will be dug out of the ground." We posted on the subject at the time, but warned:
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."
Yesterday, Hargreaves Services plc announced it had sold the mine at Hemerdon to another party, who has "a view to recommencing tungsten mining operations in due course":
Following the announcement by Wolf on 10 October 2018 that it had ceased trading, Hargreaves has been in discussions with the Official Receiver, acting as liquidator of Wolf, and other interested parties including Devon County Council, the Environment Agency and various landowners regarding the future of the tungsten mine.
Earlier this year, Drakelands Restoration Limited ("DRL"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hargreaves, acquired various freehold and leasehold properties and an assignment of the minerals lease whilst discussions over the site's future progressed. DRL has been reimbursed for the costs of safeguarding and maintaining the site during the period of those discussions.
The Board is pleased to announce that it completed the sale of DRL to a third party, Tungsten West Limited ("TWL"), for £2.8m in cash on 29 November 2019. The sale proceeds will be paid to Hargreaves today. As a result of this transaction, TWL has acquired control of the Hemerdon mine with a view to recommencing tungsten mining operations in due course.
Industry experts have put the cost of reopening the mine "at about £40million."
Plymouth’s closed down Drakelands tungsten mine could reopen after being bought in a near £3million deal https://t.co/Keh7Cdg6Ru
— Plymouth Live (@Plymouth_Live) December 5, 2019
