Tungsten West, Critical Minerals, and the UK Mining Comeback

In this episode we chat to Jeff Court, CEO of Tungsten West, an AIM market listed mining company who own and operate the Hemerdon Mine at Drakelands, South Devon, in the UK; one of the world’s largest tungsten resources who are going to bring the Hemerdon mine back into full production

 

We discuss the restart of the mine, the project’s progress towards commissioning, the significance of recent UK Government support and funding, the UK mining industry and the key steps ahead as Tungsten West moves towards production.

 

Jeff also shares lessons from more than 30 years in mining and his experience delivering projects around the world and much more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Backed by a £71 million funding package that includes the UK government as a strategic equity partner, Tungsten West has fully funded Hemerdon through to commercial production.

The company rapidly transitioned from securing capital to launching operations within roughly one week, running plant refurbishment and early production in parallel with ongoing new construction.

Hemerdon represents one of the world’s largest tungsten deposits outside China, positioning the UK as a critical supplier of raw materials for domestic defense and clean-energy supply chains.

To overcome regional recruitment shortages in Devon, the operation is prioritizing local hiring, on-the-job training, and transferrable problem-solving skills over prior mining experience.

BEST MOMENTS

"We're probably one of the fastest projects you'll ever see from 'we're fully funded' to 'we're producing', and give or take we're about a week in between those two processes."