Cornish hits high-grade tin-copper at South Crofty

The highlight intercepts include 5.16% copper over 0.73 metres starting at 378 metres, with 3.43% Sn Eq, at metal prices of $18,400 a tonne for tin and $6,600 a tonne for copper.

According to the company, three additional lode structures have been intersected, the results for which will be released as are tabulated. The dominant lode structures at South Crofty have strike lengths in excess of 3,500 metres and can be traced from surface to at least 1,000 metres depth, the company said.

“This is an excellent start to the drill program, which has been designed
to demonstrate the ability to infill drill the current resource from surface, to intersect multiple lodes from single drill holes, and to show the potential exists to materially increase the current resource,” Cornish CEO Richard Williams said.

“In the context of tin deposits, these are high-grade intersects and are in line with the historic production grades from the South Crofty Mine.”

South Crofty is considered the most important tin mine in the UK and hosts one of the highest grade tin resources worldwide. Tin mining in the region dates back to 2,300 B.C.

Cornish (previously Strongbow) bought the underground mine, which holds about 30,000 tonnes of tin, in 2016, though it had been shut down since 1998, as low metal prices made the operation financially unsustainable.

South Crofty, approximately 390km drive west of London on the Celtic Sea Coast, was the last tin mine in Europe when it closed. Several companies attempted to revive the flooded mines between 2001 and 2013, but due to persistent poor market conditions the assets were put into administration in 2013.

Osisko Gold Royalties (TSX-OR) is Cornish’s largest shareholder, currently owning 32.7% of the issued share capital.