The UK’s National Wealth Fund is set to invest up to £71m in Tungsten West to support the restart of the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine near Plymouth, Devon.
The funding, comprising £36m in equity and up to £35m in loans, is intended to cover construction, commissioning and processing costs required to resume mining operations.
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This financial support comes as the UK Government seeks to strengthen domestic sources of tungsten, a mineral used in sectors such as defence, aerospace and advanced energy.
As part of the agreement, the government has secured an exclusive negotiation period to discuss an offtake arrangement for up to 50% of Hemerdon’s annual tungsten production, as outlined in Tungsten West’s 2025 feasibility study.
The UK Government is conducting separate negotiations regarding the offtake agreement.
Tungsten West aims to ramp up to full-scale production at the site by the first quarter of 2027.
According to the company, existing infrastructure at the mine, which was previously operational, will help lower costs and accelerate the return to production.
The National Wealth Fund’s investment is also intended to contribute to employment and industrial development in the South West.
Tungsten West expects the project to support around 350 direct jobs upon reaching full operation.
The investment follows the fund’s recent backing of Cornish Metals and is seen by stakeholders as a step towards building a critical minerals cluster and supporting the renewal of mining activity in the region.
Recent international export controls have highlighted the need for the UK to diversify its supply of critical minerals.
Tungsten West CEO Jeff Court said: “We are incredibly pleased to welcome the UK Government’s National Wealth Fund as a long-term equity partner in the development of the Hemerdon mine.
“Hemerdon is a world-class, low-cost and long-life tungsten and tin resource in the UK. It is extremely important to us that we prioritise UK requirements for this critical metal to support domestic demand, including strategic initiatives across defence and next-generation energy.”
