UK Edition
A Canadian miner is turning to UK investors to raise £5m to develop a “considerable” new copper mine in Cornwall.
Cornish Metals wants to move forward with its United Downs project in the historic mining district of Gwennap, Redruth, which could eventually create hundreds of new jobs.
High grades of copper and tin were discovered there last April, fuelling hopes of a revival for Cornwall’s mining industry.
Based in Vancouver, Cornish Metals is listed in Canada but is planning a secondary listing on Aim, possibly as soon as next month, to raise the cash.
It is expected to announce its intention to float this morning.
Chief executive Richard Williams, who grew up in Wales and studied at Portsmouth University, said it was one of the best discoveries in the UK for decades and highlighted Cornwall’s ongoing potential.
Mining in the county stretches back thousands of years and during the early 19th century Gwennap was known as the “richest square mile on the earth".
But Cornwall suffered from growing global competition and a collapse in tin prices in the 1980s, with Rio Tinto abandoning exploration.
Cornish Metals, formerly named Strongbow Exploration, is part of a resurgence of interest from smaller companies.
Private company Cornish Lithium is working to produce lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock, raising £5.2m from investors via crowdfunding in its most recent fundraise.
In return for royalties, Cornish Lithium has rights to explore for lithium in geothermal waters in areas covered by Cornish Metals’ mineral rights, and made the discovery at United Downs last April.
In recent years, Cornish Metals has also been trying to revive the nearby South Crofty tin mine, which closed in 1998 after 400 years.
However, the project has been put on the back burner following another fall in the price of tin and the difficulties of getting water out of the mine.
Cornish Metals previously explored plans to list on Aim in 2018 before the United Downs discovery, but never went ahead.
Mr Williams said the £5m to be raised on Aim would be used for further drilling and testing, with more cash needed at a later stage to get the mine into production - within about 4.5 years if all goes to plan.
The overall potential of the project is not yet clear but rough estimates suggest that each of the 10 seams being targeted could potentially produce anything from 1m-7m tonnes.
Copper is in growing demand due to its use in electric wiring and batteries. The mine could create about 200 jobs directly and hundreds more indirectly.