London-listed Tungsten West has appointed Jeffery Court as its new CEO, taking charge of progressing the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, in Devon, UK, towards production.

The appointment, which is intended to be effective no later than November 1, upon completion of the notice period from his current employer Capital, is subject to the approval of a UK work visa.

Court is an experienced international mining executive, having worked in the mineral resource sector for more than 30 years, covering numerous roles from project feasibility and startup, major EPC/EPCM and product mineral processing plant projects, mining operations and contract mining services, operational and business management.
 
Having started his career at Rio Tinto, during which time he was involved in mine feasibility and long-term planning, Court spent 15 years at Orica, where he held multiple senior business executive roles and led a structural and strategic review to improve business performance. He subsequently worked at FLSmidth, where he oversaw the industrial capital equipment division of more than $500-million a year, and Perenti, where he was responsible for the operational and business management of the African Mining Service division.

More recently, as the CEO – mining and chief development officer – of Capital’s drilling and mining services business, Court has managed the provision of its services to the industry, ranging from exploration, grade control and production drilling to load and haul contract mining. Collectively, these roles have spanned Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America.
 
It is the directors’ intention that on his appointment as CEO, Court will join the board of directors.

"I am confident that Jeff’s prior experience will prove invaluable to the company, with his work across project feasibility, mining operations, and his responsibility for key corporate divisions, complementing our goal of securing further financing for the project and recommencing mining and processing operations at Hemerdon in 2026,” said Tungsten West chairperson David Cather.