A state-backed cash injection clears the final funding hurdle for Britain's biggest tungsten mine to fire back up this year.
Tungsten West (AIM: TGN) has struck terms with the National Wealth Fund for an investment worth up to £71 million, completing the funding jigsaw needed to bring its Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon back into production.
The package splits into £36 million of new equity, via 100 million shares priced at 36p each, and a debt facility of up to £25 million with a further £10 million available on an uncommitted basis, handing the state-owned fund a stake of roughly 7.42% in the company alongside the right to nominate a non-executive director.
The money will be used to fund the restart of Hemerdon, one of the largest known tungsten deposits in the world, and to repay a short-term loan facility the company had put in place back in May. Tungsten is classed as a critical mineral, with applications spanning defence, aerospace, energy and advanced manufacturing, and Chancellor John Healey framed the investment as part of a wider push to secure domestic supply chains and back British industry at a time of heightened geopolitical risk.
As part of the arrangement, government has secured a limited window to negotiate an offtake deal covering up to half of Hemerdon's projected tungsten output, terms that were originally mapped out in the project's 2025 feasibility study. Tungsten West is separately in advanced discussions with a major downstream refiner over a further offtake agreement, and says it has already produced tungsten and tin concentrates during trial running over the past month.
Final completion testing is under way, with commercial production targeted for the third quarter of 2026. The restart is expected to create 350 direct jobs in the South West, adding to a run of metals extraction projects reviving in the region, though delivery risk remains until the plant demonstrates sustained output and the promised refiner offtake is formally signed.
This report is based on Tungsten West’s announcement and coverage by UK Investor Magazine. Company announcements can be tracked via London Stock Exchange RNS and Investegate, and the full results calendar is worth watching for the next update.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Photo: Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash.
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