Britain explored for mining resources

[Kromovaracun]

http://www.economist....ar/minewhatyouwishfor

"Wolf Minerals, an Australian firm, listed on AIM on November 30th with the intention of raising cash to finance a tungsten mine in Devon. Humphrey Hale, Wolf’s boss, says the world’s fourth-largest deposit of the metal, a vital ingredient for toughening steel, lies some eight miles north-east of Plymouth."

"Anglesey Mining is assessing the prospects of getting copper, zinc and lead from Parys Mountain in Wales [...] South Crofty, a Cornish tin mine, is set to begin full production in 2014."

"Sirius Minerals is exploring for potash, a mineral used in fertilisers, in Yorkshire. The country’s only working gold mine, in Northern Ireland, may shortly be joined by another in Scotland."

I've often maintained on this site that the 'death of British manufacturing' is largely a misrepresentation. But there's little doubting that mining has (for good reason) become something of a niche industry - and will remain so. But will these developments herald sustainable growth in the UK mining industry? Or is it something of a non-story? Discuss!

[anotheoldgit]

Interesting but why does it take an Australian firm, if there is any tungsten to be mined in Devon, why can't we mine it ourselves?

Hemerdon Mine, alternatively known as the Hemerdon Ball or Hemerdon Bal Mine, is a historic tungsten and tin mine. It is located 11 km (7 miles) NE 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, which has been out of operation since 1944, except for the brief operation of a trial mine in the 1980s, hosts one of the largest tungsten and tin deposits in the world.

However it makes one wonder, why the 1980's trial mine didn't become successfully operative?

[youngmafbog]

Technology has moved on since the 80's. Operations that were not economic may well be profitable now. Have to wait and see I guess.

I doubt the mining industry will become huge. Valuable metal mining is very niche and there is not loads of it in the country just in some pockets dotted around.

[DTCwordfan]

South Crofty used to be tin and there is plenty of it still down there. My old man was a qualified tin mining engineer and I have been down a couple of the mines.

The project isn't about tin really though, it's about the by-products which have more prospects of being stable in price, namely indium and chromium to name but two. Current reserves of latter are mainly in Cuba, Chile and Peru, and the latter is essentially targeted at the Chinese market as they control it - therefore mining becomes very much strategic. Things like Gold, Silver, Platinum, Lead, Mercury and Nickel also come into play.

I'm not twixted at the fact of foreigners developing these projects, such as the Ozzies in Devon or the Canucks in South Crofty. After all we have the likes of RTZ mining overseas in far larger volumes etc and quite likely to take these developers out if there is anything really viable over the medium/long term.

What makes me wonder is the viability of other tin mines like Wheal Jane and St Just Gwennor but the key economics will be driven not only by the reserves but getting the water out, always a major problem in Cornish mines and why we Cornish were major developers of steam engines - forget Stephenson take a look at Trevithick of Camborne. But what really could be a great project is if some of these dev cos were to look at the spoil tips. In my father's generation they only mined at parts per hundred may be pushing a thousand, now they extract at parts per million and it makes you wonder how much is wrapped up in those old heaps - and easily "gettable" at.

[daffy654]

The Americans are Fracking in my neck of the woods.

http://www.guardian.c...use-lancashire-quakes

[rov1100]

They should frack off elsewhere Daffy

[daffy654]

My thoughts exactly rov. It isn't as if they have employed a large amount of local people (or ever will), so far they have brought in all their own people from the US.

[factor-fiction]

Some of the local reports about 'Fracking' in the North West suggested it could be worth many billions- far more than North Sea oil was- to the UK economy but it has hardly hit the national news so I suspect we may be disappointed. The same may apply to this little publicised Mining story