Hemerdon Mine
The main open cast at Hemerdon Ball | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
Location in the county of Devon | |
| Location | Hemerdon, near Plympton |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 50°24′36″N 4°00′36″W / 50.410°N 4.010°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Tungsten, and Tin |
| Type | Open-cast |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1867 |
| Active | 1918–9, 1941–4, and 2015–8 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Tungsten West plc |
| Website | tungstenwest |
| Year of acquisition | 2019 |
Hemerdon Mine, also known as Hemerdon Ball Mine, Hemerdon Bal Mine and (briefly) previously as Drakelands Mine is a tungsten and tin mine. It is located 11 km (7 miles) northeast of Plymouth, near Plympton, in Devon, England. It lies to the north of the villages of Sparkwell and Hemerdon, and adjacent to the large china clay pits near Lee Moor. The mine had been out of operation since 1944, except for the brief operation of a trial mine in the 1980s. Work started to re-open it in 2014, but it ceased activities in 2018. It hosts the fourth largest tin-tungsten deposit in the world.
A new company, Tungsten West plc, commenced interim operations at the mine in 2023, after investing to alter the processing plant. A ground up review led to the recognition that the ore is not Wolframite, but is in fact a related ore, Ferberite, and changes were needed to improve extraction efficiencies. In addition, a subsidiary will enhance the mine with aggregate sales as a by-product of mining.