The UK’s National Wealth Fund agreed to invest up to £71 million in Tungsten West (AIM: TUN), the company restarting Devon’s Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, in exchange for an equity stake and a shot at locking in half the mine’s future output.
The package splits into £36 million of new equity, buying the fund roughly 7.42% of Tungsten West, plus up to £35 million in debt financing. It also gives the government an exclusive window to negotiate a deal for up to half of Hemerdon’s projected tungsten production, not yet a completed purchase agreement. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds called the investment a “major vote of confidence in our critical minerals sector,” tying it to the government’s broader push to rebuild domestic industry.
Flashback: Britain Unveils Plan to Cut Dependence on China for Critical Minerals
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Tungsten and tin both sit on the UK’s list of critical minerals, materials where China holds an outsized share of global production, as much as 90% for some of them, leaving UK defence and aerospace manufacturers dependent on a market one geopolitical rival dominates.
The mine shut down in 2018 after its previous owner entered administration, and Tungsten West itself warned of possible insolvency as recently as December 2024, when its cash reserves had fallen to £40,000. Shares have climbed roughly 340% since the start of the year, from around 10p to just over 50p, with Tuesday’s announcement supplying the sharpest leg of that run.
