The company which owns Plymouth’s vast Hemerdon tungsten mine has begun trading shares on the London Stock Exchange and said the cash raised will allow it to plan for a full restart of production.
Tungsten West Plc began trading shares on the Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) at 8am on October 21. The initial public offering (IPO) saw 177,071,571 ordinary shares with voting rights go on the market at a nominal value of 1p each. Within two hours the investor research website Proactive was reporting the share price had hit 61.4p.
Tungsten West has previously said the IPO would net the firm £39m and value the business at £106.2m. It has already raised £36m from other investors which means it is expecting to have enough cash to fully start production of tungsten and tin at the mine on the edge of Plymouth.
More on Plymouth’s tungsten mine Mining rebirth Full production Options explored InvestmentMax Denning, chief executive of Tungsten West, said: “We are delighted to commence trading on AIM, following an extremely successful IPO and fundraise.
“Today marks a milestone for Tungsten West, as we move into the final stages of development of the Hemerdon mine and look ahead to restarting production.
“The Hemerdon mine is the third largest tungsten resource in the world and will be producing strategically important materials that are vital for the manufacturing of new technology, including those that will aid the UK in its net-zero goals. It is for this reason that the mine represents a hugely strategic project for the UK and the Western Hemisphere.
“We are pleased to welcome new investors and stakeholders to the business and look forward to updating the market with exciting newsflow from the site in due course.”
Tungsten West is the 100% owner and operator of the formerly-producing Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, currently the world’s third largest tungsten resource.
The bought the mine out of receivership for £2.8m in 2019 after its most recent operators, Wolf Minerals, stopped production in 2018.
While it was the operator, Wolf invested more than £170m into the development of the site, including significant infrastructure and processing facilities.
Tungsten West is now focussed on updating the existing infrastructure and, in the near-term, restarting the Hemerdon mine at a low cost.
Following the restart, Hemerdon is expected to produce significant volumes of tungsten and tin, both of which are strategically important materials, particularly in the development of new technology.
Tungsten West Ltd has previously said that full production could be possible as soon as late 2022.
About 50 people are currently employed at the Hemerdon mine, but this is forecast to rise to about 300 once full production is met.
Meanwhile, Durham-based Hargreaves Services Plc, a diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors, is set to earn £8m following Tungsten West’s AIM listing.
The company is party to an exclusive Mining Services Agreement with Drakelands Restoration Ltd (DRL), a subsidiary of Tungsten West.
One aspect of this agreement is that independent of any mining activity being carried out at the site, DRL is due to pay Hargreaves £1m on November 29, 2021, and an equivalent sum each year for the following seven years.
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Hargreaves had been engaged in safeguarding and maintaining the land at the mine and signed the mining services contract, worth £1m a year for eight years starting by 2021, to carry out similar services to those it was engaged in at the mine during Wolf Minerals’ tenure.
In a statement to investors Hargreaves said: “The board congratulates Tungsten West on their admission to AIM and wishes them every success.”
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