Strategic Minerals (SML) has highlighted the release of the UK Criticality Assessment 2024, which has important implications for the company’s 100%-owned subsidiary Cornwall Resources.
The UK Criticality Assessment is published by the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, which is in turn led by members of the British Geological Survey.
It assesses the criticality of various metals and commodities to the UK, and is aimed to help policy makers build “economic resilience” and to ensure national security.
The list contains thirty-four metals and minerals, including tin and tungsten. Cornwall Resources has significant tin and tungsten on its licence at Redmoor.
As it stands, Redmoor holds an inferred resource of 11.7 million tonnes grading 0.56% tungsten trioxide (WO₃), 0.16% tin, and 0.5% copper.
Efforts are underway through discussion and submissions to government to highlight Redmoor's potentially important contribution to the resilience of domestic and international supply chains for critical and strategic designated minerals.
"I am encouraged by the publication of the new UK 2024 Criticality Assessment, and the continued inclusion of tungsten and tin in the new critical minerals list,” said Dennis Rowland, project manager of Cornwall Resources.
“The time is now to advance this project, and we are working hard to secure support for this. I also look forward to attending the Critical Minerals Association conference in London on 2 December where these recent developments will no doubt be further highlighted."
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The Renaissance of Cornish mining has been underway for some time now, and this latest assessment could give it a significant boost. Tungsten cannot be substituted for in modern industrial or defence applications, while tin has a vital role in electrification and modern and green technologies. Through the development of projects like Redmoor, the UK could reestablish itself as a key supplier of tin globally. It was interesting that copper did not appear on the list, especially as Strategic Minerals has copper at Redmoor too, but perhaps the boffins reckoned there just is plenty enough copper in the world already. Either way, Redmoor looks likely to appear on more people’s radars in the coming months and years, and that can only be good for Strategic Minerals.