WITC notes news breaking just South of Dartmoor this week: Australian mining firm Wolf Minerals have confirmed they have successfully secured funding to start work on the £130 million Tungsten project at Hemerdon Mine. The mine lies close to Dartmoor Zoo, South of Crownhill Tor and Lee Moor. Though the story is hardly a surprise, and even the relief road has been completed in expectation of this news.
The villagers of Hemerdon have also been
waiting a long time for this news. Wolf Minerals first stated
their intentions nearly 30 years ago! The village lies in an area of
Devon - a region of Britain - with a long history of mining. Hemerdon Tungsten Mine originally opened in the early 20th century, and after closing
after WW2, the area was subject to further exploratory work in the
1950s and 1980s.
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| Crownhill Down looking South and North, towards Penn Beacon |
The mine is now expected to commence
extraction of tin and tungsten in 2015. Demand for tungsten is rising, and supplies are becoming limited to more and more difficult
locations, mainly in China. The rare metal's unique properties make
it essential in the manufacture of everything from cruise missiles to
drill bits. Estimates stand that approximately 3500 tonnes of
tungsten could be extracted in the next 2 decades from the Hemerdon
Ball site.
The planning permission sought by the mining company included the following elements:
•
an open pit of eventual dimensions 36 ha in area by 200m in depth
• a plant area of 29.4ha
• tipping of approximately 100
million tonnes of mining waste over 175 ha of Crownhill Down
Thats nearly 2 sq km of spoil heap on the open moorland. Such a shame considering the wealth of historic monuments and ancient artifacts in the area. Hut circles, boundary stones and field systems. There may not be many letterboxes (although a visit just before the last Meet confirms there are some), but it is a shame, and a concern, that lacking National Park protection will cost us this open space.
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