Saloro is gearing up for first production at its Barruecopardo tungsten mine, in Spain, with plant equipment being run through its paces, Fairport Engineering has reported.

Fairport, which has been supporting the re-opening of the historic tungsten mine since 2014 in the plant design and engineering aspects, said the multi-stage crushing and screening plant was the first part of the flowsheet to be tested, with the main concentrator following closely behind. The mine’s steady-state output rate is 260,000 metric tonne units of tungsten oxide.

“The state-of-the-art production facility, that combines both modern day technology and traditional minerals processing systems, will treat a scheelite ore mined at site to produce a tungsten-rich concentrate that will account for around 13% of non-Chinese global supply of tungsten concentrates,” Fairport said.

The Barruecopardo mine has a history dating back almost 100 years. It is located in the Salamanca Province of western Spain, an area of substantial historic tungsten production. For the majority of its operating life, Barruecopardo was the largest tungsten mine in Spain, producing a high-quality tungsten concentrate from open-pit mining and related processing operations, according to Fairport. Activities ceased at the old mine in the early 1980s.

“Since Saloro’s inception, in 2004, it has diligently advanced studies, permitting and funding activities related to its project for the re-opening of the Barruecopardo mine,” Fairport said.

Fairport was awarded the Construction Management Contract for Barruecopardo last year.