London-listed W Resources has announced a provisional $30 million loan for the development of its La Parrilla tungsten-tin mine in the Extremadura region of southwest Spain.
The provisional $30 million term loan has been agreed with a US Special situations fund and remains subject to due diligence and legal documentation. The funding would enable full development of the project’s first stage, which would see production ramping up to 2Mtpa ROM utilising a conventional dry crushing and screening plant with concentration by conventional gravity techniques. This would be followed by reverse floatation and electrostatic separation to produce 2,700 tpa of tungsten concentrate and above 400 tpa tin concentrate. Engineering work is expected to be completed by Q1 2018 with full production anticipated by Q1 2019.
Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources commented: “The Board is delighted to have received preliminary approval for the funding of La Parrilla. 2018 looks set to be a transformational year for the Company as we conclude the plant development and start production at La Parrilla.”
ITRI View: A 52-55%Sn concentrate is anticipated as the final tin product, indicating annual tin output of at least 200 tonnes. With projected tin output likely to account for less than 0.1% of global tin supply, development of this project is not expected to impact the market in any meaningful way. However, the success in attracting funding is a good story for European tin mine production, which is currently limited to the Drakelands tin mine in the UK, also producing small quantities of tin as a by-product of tungsten production. We hope the news may also be helpful in raising the profile of other European tin projects, such as those in the UK, Germany and Czech Republic, who are also seeking funds for development.
