South Crofty mine bosses set date for tin to come out of the ground again

Cornwall’s last operating mine could soon yield high-value tin again. Cornish Metals, owners of the South Crofty mine in Pool, near Camborne, believe the iconic site, which closed in 1998 after nearly 400 years of mining, will return to life in 2027.

The Canadian-owned firm, formerly Strongbow, said the price of tin is such that all on-site tests in recent years point to the economic viability of the mine and its reopening nearly 30 years after it closed. A recent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) carried out at the mine by Cornish Metals shows that there is 49,310 tonnes of tin in the ground at South Crofty and with the price of tin currently at $31,000 (£24,800) a tonne per tonne, the project could worth over $200m (£160m) over 14 years.

The report says the mine also offers growth opportunities from further exploration in and near the mine, with the potential to extend mine life and increase production over the years. The owners of South Crofty have mining permission until 2071 and full planning permission to build a tin recovery processing plant.

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It also said that the mine, when fully operational, could directly create 320 well-paying jobs and also create up to 1,000 indirect jobs. Ken Armstrong, Acting CEO and Director of Cornish Metals, said: “This Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is an important milestone for Cornish Metals and our aim to bring responsible tin mining back to Cornwall and the UK. South Crofty is a strategic asset as tin is recognized as an essential metal by the UK and other national governments, while there is currently no primary tin production in Europe or North America.”

He added: “Most of the time PEAs are completed before entering the process of issuing mining permits. South Crofty has the advantage of having already cleared these hurdles and benefits from an existing mine permit and processing facility construction permits, as well as existing mining, transport and renewable energy. infrastructure.”

Owen Mihalop, Chief Operating Officer of Cornish Metals, added: “The PEA results are compelling. This provides a solid basis for further evaluation of the project, allowing the company to move forward with further preparatory work and progress towards a construction decision, with first sheet metal production planned for 2027.

“We believe the opportunities to expand the mineral resources at South Crofty and beyond are significant and this will come into focus when the current mine dewatering and shaft refurbishment project is completed by Q3 2025 and new definitions of mineral resources and exploratory drilling will be able to be undertaken. in parallel with a potential decision to build the project.”