Sitemap

By Diana Kinch

UK Set for Mining ‘Revival’ Post-Brexit

CorD Recommends

Annalena Baerbock Elected UN Assembly President

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the...

Milica Delević Appointed Secretary General

In a move signaling both continuity and...

Disney Cuts Jobs Amid Boom

Despite posting a robust 7% revenue rise...

Telegraph Enters New Chapter Under US Ownership

In a landmark shift for British media, The...

Wiener Städtische Insurance Wins Günter Geyer Award

Wiener Städtische Insurance has received the Bronze Günter Geyer Award for Social Responsibility, presented by its parent group Vienna...

Ecuador and Brazil Seal 2026 World Cup Berths as Qualification Race Heats Up

With just under two years to go until the expanded 2026 World Cup kicks off across North America, thirteen...

Eurospin Enters Serbia

The Italian discount retail chain Eurospin, through its company Eurospin EKO, is officially entering the Serbian market. According to the...

Air Serbia Adds Mykonos to Its Summer Network

Air Serbia has launched a new direct route between Belgrade and the Greek island of Mykonos, with the first...

US and China to Resume Trade Talks in London

In a high-stakes diplomatic turn, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is set to meet top U.S. officials in London...

UK mining is set for growth after being largely forgotten as an investment destination for decades, mine developers said last month. However, much of the latest funding is coming from abroad, notably Canada, and not from the UK

Investor interest in new or disused mine projects – both in industrial minerals and metals – is resurfacing in the UK after laying dormant for 30 years, amid signals that “metals are the facilitator of the transition to a zero-carbon economy,” said Jeremy Wrathall, founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium. Cornish Lithium is reviving a lithium brine project in Cornwall, the country’s sole lithium project.

Wrathall’s assertion follows last month’s GBP386 million (€452 million) bid by mining giant Anglo American for Sirius Minerals’ Woodsmith polyhalite mine project in North Yorkshire. The export project would be Anglo’s first in the UK and the nation’s biggest-ever mine, requiring a potential investment of $4 billion for a 10 million mt/year complex. Reports indicate the sale will proceed, even after Sirius’s 2019 failure to raise $500 million in financing. Broker SP Angel said a go-ahead would be “a massive and very welcome favour to the workers at Woodsmith and the UK government.”

Other new or revived mine projects underlining the UK’s mineral potential include the TSX-listed Dalradian Resources’ Curraghinalt gold project in Northern Ireland, purchased by North American-based Orion Mine Finance in late 2018 for around $600 million; Australiaheadquartered Scotgold Resources’ Cononish gold project in Scotland; Strongbow Exploration’s South Crofty tin project in Cornwall, where there is also a tungsten/tin project set for development by London-listed Strategic Minerals at Redmoor; while in Devon, the Drakelands tungsten/tin project is expected to be developed by a consortium set to buy Wolf Minerals, formerly listed in Australia and which entered voluntary administration in 2018 after its international financial backing dried up.

TSX-listed Strongbow’s South Crofty underground mine, which has produced in the past and considered well-positioned to capitalise on the demand for “clean” tin, is still in feasibility studies, but has received planning permission to construct a processing plant and claims to have “strong local support to resume production.”

In keeping with the new push to support UK mine development, UK-based production of battery metals should in future be mainly aimed at local battery production

After receiving a water discharge permit in October 2017, the project is fully permitted. “The UK government is very supportive of the development of new mines,” Strongbow said.

Nonetheless, the funds for this project are coming from outside the UK. “To be frank, there might be a revival of interest in mining in the UK, and perhaps from investors, however that doesn’t necessarily mean there is a revival of interest in investing in mining in the UK. From UK-based investors at least. All the money that we see coming in is from Canada,” said Strongbow corporate communications manager Irene Dorsman.

Strongbow recently announced plans to raise $2 million to advance South Crofty’s drilling programme and feasibility studies, with $1 million to be taken up by Canadian gold smelter Osisko Gold Royalties. Cornish Lithium has managed to raise $3.4 million over a two-year period for its lithium project, showing “market confidence” in so-called green production of lithium from geothermal waters, Wrathall said. It’s also gained a 500,000 pound government grant for the development of this project, the priority of which would be sales in the UK. The project is, however, still in the exploration stage and may need another five years to reach production. In keeping with the new push to support UK mine development, UK-based production of battery metals should in future be mainly aimed at local battery production, according to Wrathall, who noted the government “is keen to secure a mega battery factory here in the UK to support” electric vehicles.

The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy had no comment on the mining strategy it intends to adopt after Brexit.

Related Articles

Electric Cars Surge in Europe

The first quarter of 2025 has brought mixed fortunes for the European automotive industry. While overall car sales across the EU dipped by 1.9%, with...

EU Booming Auto Trade

EU’s automotive trade surplus hits €89.3 billion in 2024, with exports to the US and UK soaring, while imports from China and Japan surge In...

Europe’s E-Commerce Surge

As online sales soar, European regulators scramble to curb the flood of unsafe imports from China, highlighting a growing divide in the digital marketplace Europe’s...

Mark Carney to Lead Canada Amid Trade Crisis with the US

Mark Carney, the former central banker who steered North America and the UK through financial crises, has triumphed in the race for the Liberal...

European Motorcycle Sales Surge in 2024

In 2024, Europe's five largest motorcycle markets saw a notable increase in sales, fueled by the demand for urban mobility solutions and lifestyle choices. Motorcycle...

UK Surges to Second in Global Investment Rankings, Offering Hope Amid Economic Uncertainty

In a remarkable shift, the UK has surged to second place in global investment rankings, overtaking Germany, China, and India. According to a recent...

Ambassador Ferguson: Now is the Time for the UK to Build New Trade Relations with Serbia

Now is the perfect time to begin building new trade relations with Serbia and the countries of the Western Balkans, said the UK Ambassador...

British Scientists Store Human Genome on Billion-Year Crystal

British scientists have successfully stored the entire human genome on a 5D crystal that could last for billions of years.  A team from the University...