Tungsten mine under threat after £10m loss

INVESTORS ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE FURTHER FUNDING

- WILLIAM TELFORD

THE company which runs Plymouth's huge tungsten mine desperately needs to raise cash to avoid going bust, after making a £10.33 million loss.

Tungsten West Plc has asked investors for £2m to get it through to the end of this year and is hopeful the funds will be available and it can proceed towards reopening the mine in 2026.

The Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, at Plympton, is estimated to be the second largest tungsten resource in the world. Tungsten West bought the mine out of receivership for £2.8m in 2019, when previous owner Wolf Minerals went into liquidation, but since then the mining project has been struggling financially.

Tungsten West's newly published annual report and accounts for the year to the end of March 2024 show it made an adjusted loss of £10.33m - after making a loss of £11.5m in 2023.

Jobs were also lost and the company now has just 21 employees, shedding 60 workers since 2023. It also only had £400,000 in "very limited" cash reserves at the end of September 2024.