ASX- listed Wolf Minerals (WLF) is well on schedule with the construction of its tungsten mine, now known as the Drakelands Mine, in Hemerdon, near Plymouth, UK, with initial production targeted in Q3 2015.
The Australian mining company began construction at the site in February 2014 and in May of the same year raised the additional £100 million needed see the project through to production. Since then, contracts for power and lab services have been finalised at rates similar to those in the DFS. SGS is undertaking all assaying out of the Wheal Jane Earth Science Park and DONG energy is supplying 27 Gwh of electricity per year over a 3 year period.
There are 350 people working on the construction project which is now over two-thirds complete. Over 100,000 tonnes of ore has been stockpiled at the mine to provide initial feedstock for the processing plant which will be subject to pre-operational testing from March 2015. A recruitment program is also underway, headed by agency Astra recruitment. So far, senior staff have been appointed and applications are being processed for 50 positions in the mine operation.
Drakelands will be the first new metal mine in the UK in 45 years and will produce 5,000 tonnes per year of tungsten concentrate and 1,000 tonnes per year of tin concentrate. The mine will be a two-stage open pit with an initial ten year life, although further geotechnical studies have highlighted the potential for increasing the mineral resource and therefore the longevity of the operation.
Wolf minerals have installed live-streaming cameras on the site which can be viewed online here.
