Cornish Metals (AIM:TIN) is providing permanent maintenance, engineering, and storage services for the South Crofty Tin Project in the UK, following the opening of its new workshop and stores facility.
The facility will support South Crofty through development and into production. The project was part-funded by a grant of up to £4.2 million ($7.98 million) from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, managed by Cornwall Council. The total project cost was approximately £6.8 million.
Cornish Metals says the building stands on the site of the former Bartles Foundry, within South Crofty’s surface footprint. The building is covered with solar panels and will use geothermal energy recovered from mine water pumped from South Crofty, providing a lower carbon energy source.
CEO Don Turvey says the installation of the service winder and completion of the production winder building mark a visible shift from preparation to construction at the New Cook’s Kitchen (NCK) shaft.
“Underground, dewatering has passed 400m below surface and continues to progress steadily,” Turvey says.
“The Roskear drilling results also support our view that South Crofty has the potential to grow beyond its current mineral resource, as well as reinforcing the high-grade nature of the resource.
“The discovery of high-grade tungsten was an interesting addition; however, tin remains our focus, and the next phase of exploration will build on what this program has shown us.”
More about South Crofty
A two-hole, 2,330m surface drilling program has been completed. This is the first drill program to test the company’s near-mine exploration target.
Both holes intersected the known Roskear lodes at or close to their predicted positions, confirming that tin mineralisation continues west beyond the current resource.
The South Crofty Project is a historical underground tin mine and is considered to be among the highest-grade tin resources globally, with the potential to become a new, low-cost global producer.
Tin mining in the Central Mining District of Cornwall dates back to 2,300 BC. Large-scale production began in the mid-1600s and continued intermittently until South Crofty, the last active mine, closed in 1998.
Cornish Metals is a mineral explorer and developer focused on reopening the South Crofty mine.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: Cornish Metals
