EU recognition of Devon tungsten mine prompts call for support
A mining company looking to extract one of the world's largest deposits of the critical mineral tungsten has said it has taken another step to getting back into production.Tungsten West said its operation at Hemerdon, near Plymouth, Devon, had been designated a strategic project under the EU's critical mineral strategy and could be up and running by the end of 2026."We're fully permitted and shovel ready," said Jeff Court, Tungsten West chief executive.Bosses said Hemerdon contained the second-largest tungsten deposit in the world and could meet 20% of global demand.
The disused Hemerdon Mine was taken over by Tungsten West in 2019 after it was previously run by Australian mining company Wolf Minerals Ltd, which filed for administration in 2018.Tungsten West commenced interim operations in 2023.The EU recognition of the project is a major step forward, but the company said it would still need to raise £69m ($93m) of private investment to reach production stage.Tungsten is considered the perfect metal for bullets and missiles for its high melting point and is also used in electronics and tools. While lithium and tin projects in Cornwall have attracted tens of millions of pounds of UK government support, Tungsten West had received none, said bosses.Mr Court said: "I think it's great that we have interest from the US and the EU, but it's a UK project."Jobs, money going into the economy, taxes, revenue, regional development is all going to see the benefit here."
Call for 'equal share'
Mr Court said "we would like to see the UK leading" in terms of public funding."It's good in a sense that resource development in the South West is gaining support from the government and funds are flowing into the UK, especially for the metal resource sector," he said. "That's a positive for everyone. We'd just like to see equal share of support."A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "Our upcoming Critical Minerals Strategy will set out how we plan to improve production and help projects in the UK access financial support."We welcomed the EU's announcement of Tungsten West as a strategic project, and our strategy will set out our approach to working with international partners and developing global supply chains."
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Contract standards Set out the general standards to which a supplier must conduct its business and provide their service(s) - for example in compliance with all laws and regulations, with professional skill and care and in accordance with good industry practice. standards to which a supplier must conduct its business and provide their service(s) - for example in compliance with all laws and regulations, with professional skill and care and in accordance with good industry practice. Set out any specific requirements which the supplier must meet which are intended to address particular cyber and data concerns, for example: Detailed security provisions, including compliance with the customer's own information and systems security policies Warranties of compliance with any information provided by the supplier pre-contract as part of the customer's due diligence process. Early warning requirements related to suspected cyber incidents or data breaches. Specific clauses designed to meet the requirements of the UK GDPR including: to exercise sufficient technical and organisational measures to protect data against unauthorised access, to notify data breaches in good time, and controls on the export of data outside of the UK/EEA. Compliance with specific industry standards including PCIDSS and ISO27001 Regular conduct of security testing and the provision of results to the customer (this can be a source of debate - a customer may want the right to conduct its own testing (including penetration tests) but suppliers can be reluctant to give this, especially over systems used for multiple customers, and so a right to see the results of the supplier's own internal or third party testing may be the best which can be achieved). An obligation to rectify any detected weaknesses after testing. Restrictions against use of sub-contractors and/or AI systems without the customer's consent. 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