JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Specialty metals producer Wolf Minerals said on Thursday that the operational turnaround plan for its Drakeland openpit mine at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, south-west England, was making good progress.
The turnaround plan, which was announced last month, is aimed at achieving a sustainable production platform by the end of the year. It focuses on improving the processing plant reliability in the crushing circuit, improving the performance of the refinery to enhance production levels and reducing noise emissions from the processing plant, including low frequency noise.
ASX- and Aim-listed Wolf said it was working with its lead contractor, GR Engineering Services to develop technical solutions to expedite a comprehensive LFN solution. The company stated that it planned to recover the cost of ongoing LFN rectifications from the £7.5-million performance bond under the construction contract.
The Hemerdon project has continuously experienced reliability and performance issues with the ramp-up of the processing plant, and the progress towards steady-state production has been delayed.