City tungsten mine seeking £70m investment

PLYMOUTH'S vast tungsten mine could be in full production by the end of next year creating hundreds of jobs - if investors pump £70m into the project.

- By WILLIAM TELFORD

Bosses at Tungsten West Plc are already in talks with potential funders and will be hosting a live investor presentation next month. They are confident of raising the money needed to get the project up and running after years of false starts and the collapse of previous owner Wolf Minerals in 2018.

Tungsten West has just produced a 700-page feasibility study for the Hemerdon mine, near Plympton, and plans have been bolstered by a huge rise in the price of tungsten ore. The company said it is confident it can produce the metal more efficiently and cheaply than predecessor Wolf could, making it a far more attractive proposition for investors.

It needs at least £70m to start production and is in discussions with investors, some of whom are backed by the UK, US and European governments.

Others are private equity investors and Tungsten West is aiming to secure about 20 funders, either providing debt or equity investment, or a combination of both. But chief executive Jeff Court, who took over last October, stressed the firm doesn't want grants - it wants to pay a dividend back to investors.

He said: "We are not looking for handouts. We would like to give stellar returns and would welcome the UK Government to be a partner."