The completion of the £40-million financing, including an investment by Vision Blue Resources, last month has opened a new chapter for TSX-V and Aim-listed Cornish Metals, which plans to reopen the historic South Crofty tin mine, in the UK.

The company aims to advance South Crofty to a construction decision within 30 months of closing the offer.

“As soon as the funds were received at the end of May, we wasted no time in starting to place orders for the new water treatment plant (WTP),” reports CEO Richard Williams.

Cornish plans to construct the WTP in the first half of 2023, to dewater the mine over an 18-month period.

Williams says that the first recruits to Cornish’s newly formed projects team will be joining us in the coming weeks and further appointments will be made to the mining and geological teams to enhance their capacities.

“The next few months will be hard, but rewarding work as we build the required framework for strong and capable project execution.”

Next month, Cornish plans to start an underground drilling programme to delineate a Joint Ore Reserve Committee- (Jorc-) compliant measured and indicated mineral resource and to increase the indicated and inferred Jorc mineral resource once access to the underground workings is obtained.

A feasibility study is slated for completion by the end of December 2024.

South Crofty, which has a history of 400 years of mining, has the potential to be one of the biggest tin producers globally and could supply the needs of the UK market in its entirety.

There is currently no primary mine production of tin in Europe or North America and the metal has been designated as a mineral critical to economic and national security by the US.

Williams says that the outlook for tin pricing in the medium to long term remains favourable. “Demand is expected to increase further as electrification gathers pace, with supply constraints showing no sign of abating.”