Wolf acquires world-class tungsten-tin project

  Australian specialist minerals exploration and development company, Wolf Minerals has completed the acquisition of the advanced Hemerdon Tungsten and Tin Project in the United Kingdom, which is one of the largest tungsten and tin deposits in the world.Wolf has been in voluntary suspension from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange since June 12 this year while it undertook negotiations to acquire the Hemerdon Project. The company has now re-commenced trading on the ASX. The Hemerdon Project is located near Plymouth in the South West of England, and its acquisition moves Wolf closer to its goal of becoming a world-class tungsten and tin producer. Wolf said it will commence work at Hemerdon immediately, with preliminary assessment work already underway. The company said actual mining work is scheduled to begin within three years. It is anticipated that Wolf will mine 3000 tonnes of tungsten per year at the Hemerdon site over an approximate 15 to 19-year period. A Feasibility Study conducted in 1981 by North American mining company AMAX estimated a mineable reserve estimate of approximately 40Mt at 0.183% tungsten trioxide and 0.029% tin. The global Hemerdon resource hosts 73Mt at 0.143% tungsten trioxide and 0.026% tin. The resource is based on 25,400m of drilling conducted between November 1976 and October 1980. Wolf will pay A$1m, plus an annual rental payment of A$145,000, to acquire 100 percent of the Hemerdon deposit. A two percent net smelter royalty (NSR) will also be payable. Wolf Managing Director, Humphrey Hale said that the Hemerdon Deposit offered an exceptional large-scale, low-risk, long-life mining proposition, as well as outstanding exploration upside, as the extent of mineralisation beneath the open pit at the project has yet to be fully determined. “We consider that the advanced status of the project will allow a rapid re-assessment of the Feasibility Study and that the existing granted planning approvals will form an excellent platform for the company to become a major tungsten and tin producer,” Mr Hale said.