Gekko Systems’ In Line Pressure Jigs to be used at Tungsten West’s Hemerdon project
Tungsten West has issued an update on its plans to restart production at its Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, UK, reporting on the formal agreement to bring Duo Group on as the EPC contractor for the new build crushing, screening and ore sorter facility at Hemerdon and an agreement with Gekko Systems for the supply of an In Line Pressure Jigs (IPJ) system and associated infrastructure.
The project Tungsten West is embarking on has an initial primary mine life of approximately 11 years, with additional upside from stockpile reprocessing and long-term co-product aggregate sales beyond the primary mining phase. During the primary mining period, Hemerdon is expected to deliver average annual production of approximately 331,000 MTU of tungsten (WO₃) together with around 462 tonnes of tin.
The company says it has executed two supply agreements that cover the major additions for the improvement plan to re-start the Hemerdon Mineral Processing Facility (MPF).
The Gekko agreement, meanwhile, will see an IPJ system deployed to further upgrade the coarse particle feed material at Hemerdon, further reducing the amount of coarse material needed to be processed inside the pre-existing MPF by a further 75%. All fines material (<0.8 mm) and significantly upgraded coarse material (0.8 mm to 7 mm) will then be processed in the pre-existing MPF, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment program to produce saleable tungsten and tin concentrate.
These two agreements encompass all major new additions required to complete the improvement program to the process flowsheet via the installation of:
- A new primary jaw crusher and secondary cone crusher from Metso to replace the pre-existing legacy hybrid rolls crushers at site, offering greater reliability, efficiency, improved crushing performance and better compliance with environmental regulations, the company says;
- A crushed ore stockpile that will provide buffer capacity and greatly improve reliability of supply; and
- An ore sorting facility utilising advanced particle scanning from TOMRA Mining to separate recoverable, higher quality material from waste rock, reducing the amount of material required to be processed in the MPF by around 70%.
Jeff Court, CEO of Tungsten West, said: “These supply agreements will ensure that we have all the major processing additions in place to implement the improvement plan at the MPF. I want to extend my gratitude to both of our new supply partners for their support of Tungsten West and the project, and I look forward to updating the market with further progress as we advance towards our path to production.”
Martin McWilliams, Managing Director of Duo, added: “Works on site will commence immediately, marking an important step forward in the delivery of the new build construction program. We look forward to working collaboratively with the Tungsten West team to support the successful redevelopment of the project. We are committed to executing the program in a disciplined and timely manner to support the company’s operational and environmental objectives.”
Andrew Edmondston, CEO of Gekko Systems, said: “The IPJ has been successfully employed in pre-concentration applications in many tin and tungsten projects around the world. Its many benefits include high recoveries, low operating costs and low water usage. We look forward to these benefits being realised on the Hemerdon project.”
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