The National Wealth Fund has agreed terms for a proposed investment package of up to £71 million to help Tungsten West restart the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon.
The government-owned fund will invest £36 million in equity and provide a debt facility of up to £25 million. A further £10 million is described as a non-committed accordion facility, meaning it could expand the loan later but is not guaranteed funding today.
The distinction matters. The equity subscription and core debt facility total up to £61 million, while the widely reported £71 million figure is the maximum if the additional lending is made available. The transaction also remains subject to conditions set out in the company announcement.
Under the terms announced by Tungsten West, the fund will subscribe for 100 million new shares at 36p each. That would give it about 7.42% of the enlarged company, as well as the right to nominate a non-executive director.
Tungsten West shares closed 19.7% higher at 51.6p in London on Tuesday after the agreement was announced.
The government may also become a major customer
The package includes an exclusive negotiation period during which the UK government can seek an offtake agreement covering up to half of the mine’s annual tungsten production, based on the company’s 2025 feasibility study.
An offtake agreement is a contract under which a buyer commits to purchase part of a project’s future output. It can make a mine easier to finance by giving lenders and investors greater confidence that the material will have a customer.
No such purchase contract has yet been completed. The National Wealth Fund said it was being negotiated separately.
This makes the deal more than a straightforward cash injection. The state is helping to reduce two different risks: whether the mine can obtain enough finance to restart and whether it can secure a substantial buyer for its output.
Tungsten West said the proceeds would fund construction, commissioning and processing work, as well as repay a short-term loan announced in May. The company is preparing to begin production during the third quarter of 2026 and is targeting a ramp-up to full-scale production in the first quarter of 2027.
Why Hemerdon matters to the UK
Tungsten is valued for its hardness and ability to withstand very high temperatures. It is used in cutting tools, aerospace components, electronics, energy equipment and defence applications.
The UK classifies it as a critical mineral and has identified tungsten and tin in south-west England as domestic resources that could improve supply security. Its Critical Minerals Strategy aims to meet at least 10% of annual demand for critical minerals through domestic production by 2035 and to prevent any one country from supplying more than 60% of aggregate demand.
Hemerdon, near Plymouth, already has substantial infrastructure because it previously operated as a mine. The fund said this should provide a shorter route back to production than building a project from the ground up.
The mine is expected to support about 350 direct jobs when fully operational. Those jobs and the production timetable remain forecasts rather than completed outcomes.
The investment therefore gives Tungsten West a clearer route to restart, but the remaining tests are operational. The company must complete commissioning, achieve its production targets and turn a possible government offtake arrangement into a binding sales agreement.
