First ore has been fed into the processing plant, a significant step in the wet commissioning program at Wolf Minerals’ Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, UK. GR Engineering Services (GRES) will continue commissioning with Wolf, with plant handover scheduled for August 2015. Wolf remains on schedule to deliver initial concentrates to customers in Q3, 2015.

The introduction of the first ore into the plant was on schedule following the completion of construction of the processing plant and associated infrastructure.

This represents a major milestone in the development timeline of the Hemerdon project, and ensures that the company’s goal of delivering the first new metal mine in Great Britain for 45 years will shortly become a reality.

Wolf Managing Director, Russell Clark, commented: “After an incredibly busy 15 months, we have put the first ore into the plant at the Hemerdon project on schedule. From this point GR Engineering will continue commissioning and is scheduled to hand the plant across to Wolf in August. We remain on target to deliver initial concentrates to our offtake partners in the third quarter of this year. Importantly this achievement has been attained in conjunction with an excellent safety and environmental record. I congratulate the Wolf team, GR Engineering and their sub-contractors, our mining contractor, CA Blackwell, and the various consultants and regulatory bodies which have worked together to successfully deliver the project to this point both safely and on time.”

GRES is on schedule to complete its contracted work in August, 2015 at which point it will transfer the plant to Wolf to commence production and ramp-up of the plant. The design throughput of the plant is expected to be achieved in early 2016. Wolf is on target to deliver the first tungsten concentrate to its customers in September 2015.

Construction of the processing plant commenced in March 2014, and during the past 15 months major works have been undertaken to advance the project to this point including:

• Completion of the processing plant including the buildings, associated power and water storage as well as the installation and testing of all major pieces of processing equipment
• Completion of grade control drilling to delineate ore and waste for the first 18 months of mining
• Completion of the ore pad. This facilitates the stockpiling of ore ahead of it being loaded into the crusher
• Stockpiling of 100,000 t of ore which is available for plant commissioning
• Completion of the first stage of the mine waste facility
• Completion of the administration building on site and closure of the temporary project office in Plymouth
• Completion of concrete water storage dams and the Loughter Mill pump station
• Realignment of and connection to grid power
• Completion of the SGS laboratory facility at the site
• Recruitment of the operating and professional teams for the site.