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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
The Drakelands Mine is one of the world's largest tungsten and tin resources. The Drakelands tungsten and tin mine is located approximately seven miles north-east of Plymouth, UK. Core sample from the Drakelands Mine project in UK. Wolf Minerals announced a positive result from a detailed feasibility study of Drakelands Mine on 16 May 2011. Test pit veining at the Drakelands Mine project. The Hemerdon Ball mine, renamed as Drakelands Mine in 2007 and believed to hold one of the world’s largest tungsten and tin resources, is located in Devon, approximately seven miles north-east of Plymouth, UK.The historic mine was discovered in 1867 and was mined briefly twice in the 1900s and 1940s before going out of operation in 1944. The Drakelands Mine is the fourth largest tungsten deposit in the world, according to the British Geological Survey.A comprehensive feasibility study for further development of the mine was completed in 1981 by joint venture partners AMAX and Hemerdon Mining and Smelting (HMSL), who acquired the property in 1976. Planning permission was obtained in 1986 to develop the mine until 2021. The mine was sold to Wolf minerals in December 2007.Announced on 16 May 2011, Wolf Minerals expedited the development after a positive result from a definitive feasibility study (DFS). The £140m project involves the development of a two-phase open pit and a three million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) concentrator with the related infrastructure. The Environment Agency granted major environmental approvals for the Hemerdon project in September 2012. The engineering design for the project was completed in 2013 and construction began in February 2014.The Drakelands Mine began production in August 2015 and was officially opened and commissioned in September 2015. The mine has the production capacity of more than 3Mtpa over an estimated ten-year life.ReservesThe mine contains 27.9Mt of proven reserves grading at 0.19% WO3 (tungstic oxide) and 0.03% Sn (Tin). Probable reserves total 7.8Mt graded at 0.15% WO3 and 0.02% Sn. Resources in the measured category amount to 39.9Mt graded at 0.02% Sn, 0.15% W (tungsten) and 0.18%WO3.Indicated resources were estimated to be 18.7Mt graded at 0.02% Sn, and 0.16% WO3. Inferred resources are 86.6Mt graded at 0.02% Sn, and 0.14% WO3.GeologyThe deposit is a remote cupola intrusion bordered by Devonian aged slates that are locally referred to as killas. Mineralisation begins near surface and continues till a depth of 400m. The mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike. Two vein types are distinguished by three different orientations.The first type includes a stockwork of quartz and quartz-feldspar veins that host minor mineralisation. Veins bordered by greisens are hosted in a sheeted vein system with wolframite and minor cassiterite mineralisation. The veins system occurs within a steeply dipping dyke granite structure, which is flanked by killas formed due to contact metamorphism.The killas also host veins of low wolframite and cassiterite content. Kaolinisation up to a depth of 50m is observed in the granite structure.Secondary arsenate minerals include Scorodite and Pharmacosiderite, hosted in the upper oxidation zones of the ore structures.
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