Hemerdon Mine

Hemerdon Mine, also known as Hemerdon Ball Mine, Hemerdon Bal Mine and previously as Drakelands Mine is a tungsten and tin mine. It is located northeast of Plymouth, near Plympton, in Devon, England. It lies to the north of the villages of Sparkwell and Hemerdon, and adjacent to the large china clay pits near Lee Moor. The mine had been out of operation since 1944, except for the brief operation of a trial mine in the 1980s. Work started to re-open it in 2014, but it ceased activities in 2018. It hosts the fourth largest tin-tungsten deposit in the world.
A new company, Tungsten West plc, commenced interim operations at the mine in 2023, after investing to alter the processing plant. A ground up review led to the recognition that the ore is not Wolframite, but is in fact a related ore, Ferberite, and changes were needed to improve extraction efficiencies. In addition, a subsidiary will enhance the mine with aggregate sales as a by-product of mining.

Geology

The Hemerdon deposit is centered upon a sub vertical, NNE-SSW striking, 100+ m wide Early Permian granite dyke hosted by Devonian metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks. Mineralisation is overwhelmingly associated with moderately to steeply NW-dipping greisen-bordered quartz-ferberite± cassiterite sheeted veins. The resource size and dyke host are, to date, unique in SW England. The Hemerdon Ball granite is an outlying cupola intrusion surrounded by Devonian slates, known regionally as killas. Fractures in the granite and killas have been penetrated by mineralising fluids containing metallic ores in the area around the mine. Two types of vein are discernible with three different orientations. Quartz and quartz-feldspar veins form a stockwork with minor mineralisation, whilst greisen bordered veins are found in a sheeted vein system with ferberite and minor cassiterite mineralisation.
The mineralisation begins at surface and extends to depths of at least. The vein system is hosted in a dyke like granite body, extending from the Hemerdon Ball towards the Crownhill Down granite. It is flanked by killas, formed by contact metamorphism, which also contains veins although wolframite and cassiterite is found as a lower percentage of the rock bulk. Kaolinisation occurs to depths of up to in the granitic body.
The locality is renowned for its high quality scorodite specimens, which are among the best in Europe. Pharmacosiderite, Cassiterite, Ferberite and Wolframite of specimen quality have also been recovered from the mine. Scorodite and Pharmacosiderite are secondary arsenate minerals, that form in the upper oxidation zones of ore bodies. They are formed from alteration of arsenopyrite, and are found in the weathered zone of the deposit. At depths beneath the existing pit it is likely they will become scarce.

History

1867–1959

The Hemerdon tungsten-tin deposit was discovered in 1867. In 1916, due to war associated tungsten shortages, an exploration and development programme was initiated, which outlined a tin-tungsten stockwork suitable for open-cast extraction. In 1917, Hemerdon Mines Ltd decided to construct a 140,000-tonne per year mill, and shortly afterwards open-cast ore mining operations began. The mine was operated in 1918–1919, during which time it processed 16,000 tonnes of ore. When the British government stopped accepting tungsten ores under the war pricing scheme the mine was forced to suspend mining operations.
Several attempts were made to establish a higher and stable price for tungsten from the government, including an application supported by Winston Churchill for recognition of wolfram mining as a key industry. However, after further price decreases, milling operations were suspended and the mill components were sold off. In 1934 increased tungsten prices resulted in renewed prospecting of the deposit, along with metallurgical test work. In 1939 further shortages of tungsten due to WW2 led to Hemerdon Wolfram Ltd constructing a 90,000-tonne per year mill with 55% wolfram recovery, which began operation in 1941.
The Ministry of Supply carried out extensive evaluation of tungsten deposits in the UK, and it was concluded by 1942 that Hemerdon offered the most potential for producing tungsten on a large scale. The government took over the mine from Hemerdon Wolfram Ltd. A resource of 2.5 million tonnes of 0.14% tungsten trioxide in addition to tin was outlined, and a new plant was hastily constructed.
The new plant took over operation from the old plant in 1943, and theoretically should have been able to treat over 1 million tonnes per year; however labour shortages and mechanical faults resulted in a much lower production. Ore output from a mixture of underground and open-cast mining methods was documented as over 200,000 tonnes, with a resulting 180 tonnes of tin/tungsten concentrate during the period of government operation. Operations ceased in June 1944 due to access to overseas supplies being restored.
The plant was kept in place after the war, and the government was rumoured to have planned restarting production during the tungsten shortages associated with the Korean War. However, nothing came of this and following the Westwood Report in 1956, the government decided to seek a private partner to move the mine's development forwards. After further decreases in the tungsten price, resulting in the closure of the Castle-an-Dinas Mine tungsten mine in Cornwall, the government sold off all the plant in 1959.

1960–2006

However, in the mid-1960s work on the prospect was recommenced by British Tungsten Ltd, owned by Canadian entrepreneur W. A. Richardson. In 1969 a planning application for open-cast working of tin, tungsten and china clay was submitted, but it was withdrawn before a decision could be made. Further work commencing in 1970 by British Tungsten Ltd increased the resource to 5.6 million tonnes of ore.
The leases were transferred to Hemerdon Mining and Smelting Ltd in 1976. They initiated a drilling programme shortly before they entered a joint venture to develop the project with international mining firm AMAX in 1977. An extensive exploration programme costing in excess of $10 million was completed between 1978 and 1980. By the end of 1978, deeper drilling enlarged the resource size to 20 million tonnes of ore. In 1979 this was expanded to 45 million tonnes. At the end of the exploration programme in 1980, over of diamond drilling had been undertaken, outlining a resource of 0.17% tungsten trioxide and 0.025% tin over 49.6 million tonnes.
Bulk sampling of the deposit using an underground drift for ore, and a pilot HMS and Gravity plant for processing, was undertaken in 1980. On average recoveries of around 65% were made, although in excess of 70% was achieved. The final revision of the mining feasibility study concluded in 1982 that a within a global resource of 73 million tonnes of ore, at grades of 0.143% tungsten trioxide and 0.026% tin, there was an in pit reserve of 38 million tonnes, at grades of 0.183% tungsten trioxide and 0.029% tin.
The venture was joined by Billiton Minerals Ltd, providing further finance and expertise, and forming a consortium that planned to commence production in 1986. The initial planning application was made in 1981, but a public enquiry and 'calling in' of the application by the Secretary of State resulted in an initial refusal of the application in 1984. This resulted in Billiton Minerals Ltd pulling out of the consortium. Hemerdon Mining and Smelting Ltd also sold their 50% stake in the project to AMAX. After making a revised application, permission was finally obtained in 1986. By then a collapse in the prices of both tin and tungsten had damaged the economic feasibility of making an investment in opening the mine. Its tungsten assets were passed on to a newly formed holding company, Canada Tungsten Ltd, in 1986.
Canada Tungsten implemented the planning permission that was obtained in 1986, and kept the project in its portfolio of prospects for many years. Before AMAX was sold to Phelps Dodge, it gradually transferred Canada Tungsten into the ownership of Aur Resources. In 1997, a new company, North American Tungsten plc, purchased all the tungsten assets from Aur Resources, and was listed with the aim of reopening the Cantung mine, and developing the Hemerdon and Mactung prospects.
However, during a review of peripheral assets in 1999, it decided that with the depressed prices of tungsten, the Hemerdon prospect was not central to its future. With upkeep costs of in excess of C$150,000 per annum, almost a third of the company's annual costs, attempts were made with the mineral rights holders to reduce fees. The negotiations were unsuccessful and therefore during 2000, two of the three mineral rights were surrendered. To further reduce costs, it disposed the remaining assets of the Hemerdon prospect in 2003.
The concrete roads constructed around the Second World War mills up to the open-cast area at the top of the hill were used by the Plymouth Motor Club and Plymouth Kart Club for speed hill climbs until approximately 1972.

2007–2018

Sustained tungsten metal price rises resulted in a five-fold increase in the price of ammonium paratungstate, from around US$60 per STU in 2003, to in excess of US$240 per STU from 2006. This has resulted in increased tungsten mining exploration and development activities globally since 2005.
In June 2007, ASX-listed specialty metal exploration and development company, Wolf Minerals, suspended trading of shares pending the acquisition of mineral leases. On 5 December 2007, trading recommenced following the public announcement of acquiring the mineral leases for the Hemerdon Mine project. The mineral leases were made for a period of 40 years, with the Hemerdon Mineral Trust and the Olver Trust. An agreement with Imerys to purchase remaining mineral rights and freehold land was also made. Following agreements with local landowners to acquire surface rights, Wolf Minerals renamed the project the Drakelands Mine to "recognise the local community".
SRK Consulting were commissioned to produce a JORC-compliant resource using previous drilling data. This was released in March 2008. Subsequently, it has been updated twice by SRK Consulting to incorporate new drilling data and revised geological modelling. The resource of over 300,000 tonnes of tungsten metal makes Drakelands the fourth largest tungsten deposit in the world. In 2009, funding for a DFS was achieved with the support Resource Capital Funds and Traxys, completed in May 2011. Mining operations commenced in 2014, with first ore into the plant June 2015 and first concentrate production scheduled for September 2015. The project has planning permission dating back to 1986, which is valid until 2021. If production levels were achieved as anticipated, the mine would have been the largest tungsten concentrate producer in the world. A planning application was submitted to extend the pit slightly further to the southwest to further increase reserves.

Resource category	Ore tonnage	Sn grade	WO₃ grade	Contained Sn	Contained W
Measured	48.53	0.02	0.19	9700	72800
Indicated	22.39	0.02	0.18	4500	40300
Inferred	147.61	0.02	0.18	29500	206700
Total	218.53	0.02	0.18	43700	318800

Wolf Minerals ceased trading operations on 10 October 2018, as the mine never achieved extraction or financial targets. Despite such losses, the site is still thought to have potential as the site retains large ore deposits and valuable infrastructure.