Name and Location
Hemerdon tungsten and tin project, England.

Client
Wolf Minerals.

Project Description
The Hemerdon project is located about 9.6 km north-east of Plymouth, near Plympton, in Devon.

The project includes a two-stage openpit, with a ten-year life and a three-million-tonne-a-year concentrator, with associated infrastructure.

Mining will be performed by a mining contractor using conventional hydraulic excavator and truck operations.

The proposed processing facility will separate the wolframite (tungsten) and the cassiterite (tin) from the gangue using crushing, screening and scrubbing; dense-medium separation; desliming and gravity separation; concentrate processing; tailings thickening and disposal.

Value
£123.2-million.

Duration
Production is expected to start in 2015.

Latest Developments
Wolf Minerals has started ore processing as part of the wet commissioning of the processing plant at its Hemerdon project.

Wolf has reported that the introduction of the first ore at the plant is on schedule following the completion of construction of the processing plant and associated infrastructure.

This represents a major milestone in the development timeline of the project and has ensured that the company’s goal of delivering the first new metal mine in the UK for 45 years will shortly become a reality.

The plant is scheduled to be handed over to Wolf Minerals in August, with the project on target to deliver initial concentrates to its offtake partners in the third quarter of this year.

The design throughput of the plant is expected to be achieved in early 2016. Wolf will deliver the first tungsten concentrate to its customers in September this year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
GR Engineering (engineering, procurement and construction contract) and CA Blackwell (mining services contract).

On Budget and on Time?
The project remains on schedule to start earthworks this month, with construction scheduled during the second quarter of 2014. Tungsten production is expected to start in 2015.

Contact Details for Project Information
Wolf Minerals, +61 8 6364 3776, fax +61 8 6210 1872 or email admin@wolfminerals.com.au.
GR Engineering, tel +61 8 6272 6000, fax +61 8 6272 6001 or email gres@gres.com.au.
CA Blackwell, tel +44 1787 223131, fax +44 1787 223235 or email enquiries@cablackwell.co.uk.