Tungsten West Ltd has revealed further details of its mineral processing facility (MPF) housed in three buildings at the Hemerdon tin-tungsten mine in Plympton, Devon.
MODIFICATIONS
The company is currently carrying out modifications in the MPF and preparing to install new equipment more suitable for processing ore in readiness for production in 2022.
The first stage of the process in building 110 involves primary and secondary crushing.
Project director Jon Hsuan said that the current equipment was designed for soft rock which lies at the top of the deposit.
“But as we’ve moved now into harder rock it’s no longer fit for purpose.
“So in doing the modifications in this building we will have a circuit and a process that is fit for purpose which is the harder material in the future.”
SCREENS
Building 120 houses the second stage of mineral processing which is classification area where the drum, known as a scrubber caused enormous damage to the ore for the previous owners Wolf Minerals because the screen was too big.
Tungsten West will strip everything out and instead install three screens.
NEW BUILDING
The company will also install two conveyor belts that will come out of the 120 building and transport the sized products for ore sorting across to a third and new building 125 for the final stage of the process.
Half the tonnage will be discarded at an early stage with the remaining half processed, which will reduce costs.
“This was a project that was started under the previous operators of this mine and unfortunately couldn’t be finished,” added Mr Hsuan.
“So it’s the greatest pleasure that I can come back and finish the job and turn this mine into a world class operation which is profitable.”
In June, Tungsten West told Fastmarkets that it was in the “advanced stages” of preparing its initial public offering in London’s AIM market.