South Crofty Expects 2-3 Years to Startup (Tin)

CORNWALL, May 25 -- Western United Mines plans to re-open the South Crofty mine in Cornwall, UK, in about two to three years, COO John Webster told Reuters. However the company needs to raise another UK£10 million to complete a feasibility study on the project, after which an initial public offering of shares is likely.

The company is targeting ore with a net value of $150 a tonne, which, coupled with expected output of around 1 million tones of ore a year, should give it a healthy profit margin. "We're targeting ore zones from 40 to 1,000 metres to surface and if ore bodies get deeper we'll follow them, but we'd only mine at the depth for $250 a tonne - it's a cost versus depth decision," said Webster.

"The ore bodies are very high grade compared to the industry norm. We have an average grade of about 2-3 percent copper, 2-4 percent zinc and about 0.5 to 1.5 percent tin and with metal prices where they are we can use lower grade ore," he said. Gold, silver, tungsten and indium could also contribute to by-product revenue.