Wolf Minerals has announced that it has been issued a Category A Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit for its Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in Devon, in southwest England. This is a major milestone in the development timeline for the Hemerdon project and is the final major permit required to proceed with development and construction of the project. The Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit is also the first to have been issued in the UK.

 

Wolf submitted its Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit application to the UK government’s principal environmental body for England and Wales, the Environment Agency, in May 2013. The EA conducted a two month public consultation period and received reviews by partner organisations such as Natural England, Devon County Council and others. As a result of this process the EA had sufficient information to publish a draft permit, which was subject to a one month public consultation period. This has now successfully been completed and the Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit has been issued.

 

Together with the purchase of requisite properties around the Hemerdon project site, which was finalised in November, the Mining Waste Facility Environmental Permit was a pre-requisite to the commencement of construction on the project. Construction is now scheduled to commence in January 2014.