Cornish Metals updates MRE as Water Treatment Plant is commissioned
Cornish Metals has recently declared an augmented indicated and inferred mineral resource at South Crofty, along with the onset of the commissioning process of their mine water treatment plant.
The historic South Crofty mine, originally opened in the 16th Century, was acquired by Cornish Metals in 2016 following its closure in 1996 and subsequent flooding. It stands as the 4th highest-grade tin mineral resource globally.
The updated mineral resource estimate follows a campaign of digitisation and modelling of historic data in the Lower Mine tin-only section of the project, as well as additional drilling. The results increase the Indicated resource by 39% from the 2021 estimate to 2.896 Mt grading 1.50% Sn. Inferred tonnage is improved by 35.6% to 2.626 Mt grading 1.42% Sn.
Richard Williams, CEO of Cornish Metals, said “This is another positive development for South Crofty as we advance the project through to delivery of a feasibility study by the end of 2024, and continue to demonstrate the potential to increase the project’s mineral resource and mine life.”
The updated MRE comes as the company commences the commissioning of a mine water treatment plant, which will have a capacity of 25,000 cubic metres of water per day. The plant will use High-Density Sludge process technology to treat the raw mine water before draining into the nearby Red River. The commissioning and construction are expected to take up to three weeks, with full dewatering of the mine anticipated to commence by the end of October.
The upgraded MRE at South Crofty, in conjunction with progress in the dewatering and water treatment facet of the operation, continues a promising trend for the project as it prepares for the release of its Feasibility Study by the end of 2024.
