Geo Resources

The energy transition is materials intensive: there is 4 x more copper in electric vehicles and we’ll need around 500 x more lithium in the next 20 years. Cornwall still has world class deposits and with prices increasing, it is worthwhile exploring. From tin and tungsten, historically mined throughout Cornwall, to the new and innovative work being done to extract lithium from granite mica and brines, Cornwall’s geology creates a real opportunity for us to support the energy transition.

Cornwall’s landscape reflects a region that was extensively mined during the 1800s and 1900s. The region produced tin, copper and arsenic during this period. 

At the turn of the 20^th century, an increase in mines around the world began to bring the price of copper and tin down. This eventually led to the collapse of the mining industry in Cornwall, with the vast majority of mines closing during the 20^th century. 

Throughout the 20^th century, China Clay, or Kaolin, was still being extracted from Cornwall’s large deposits. The sites are still worked today by Imerys, and the landscape around St Austell is noticeably different from that of West Cornwall, due to the white-tipped peaks. 

Recent exploration in Cornwall by UK and international companies has confirmed that in addition to tin and copper, the county also has plentiful lithium, tungsten and silver resources. 

The government’s Department for International Trade now recognises Cornwall as a High Potential Opportunity for investment. High Potential Opportunities (HPOs) form part of the government’s campaign to attract overseas investment and trade opportunities to the UK. 

Cornwall is identified as a HPO due to its metal and mineral deposits. Global demand for next generation technologies and applications like electric vehicles and battery storage is creating a need for the base and high-technology metals that can be found in Cornwall. 

Tin prices have risen 500% in 30 years and demand for lithium is expected to increase by 400% over the next six years. Currently, the UK is totally reliant on imports of lithium and other battery metals; Cornwall has the potential to enable domestic production of these metals in the UK, which would support the country’s green ambitions (clean growth and zero carbon). 

Lithium

Cornish Lithium is working with Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) at its United Downs site in Redruth to explore opportunities for extracting lithium in ‘shallow’ geothermal waters (approx. 1-2km deep). 

The LEP is investing £2.9m from the Government’s Getting Building Fund in a £4m pilot-scale lithium extraction plant on the same site. The project is a joint venture between Cornish Lithium and GEL. The aim is to demonstrate that lithium hydroxide can be produced in Cornwall with a net zero carbon footprint, using naturally occurring geothermal waters. Lithium hydroxide is a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

A hard rock lithium project run by the company is located in St Austell. After much metallurgical testwork, in 2021 the company will work towards identifying a broader area of lithium-enriched granite. It also plans to build a mineral processing pilot plant to treat 20 tons of granite and produce a lithium mica concentrate.

The company is also carrying out work to identify prospective areas for exploration of other battery and technology metals. 

British Lithium is based in Roche, Cornwall. In 2019, the company was the first in the UK to drill lithium holes. British Lithium is the only lithium mine developer in UK to have its own, in-house metallurgical research facilities. In 2021, the company has received £2.9 million from the Government’s Sustainable Innovation Fund (SIF), which will allow the company to progress its plans for a pilot plant. It is hoped the plant will prove the sustainability and commercial benefits of the company’s innovative Li-Sep Ò technology for extracting battery-grade lithium from micaceous granite.

Cornish Metals is a Canadian owned company that owns South Crofty, the last mine to close in Cornwall in 1998. 

Cornwall Resources is a subsidiary of AIM-listed Strategic Minerals and its Redmoor Mineral Resource in the southeast of Cornwall ranks the number one largest undeveloped tin-tungsten underground mining project in the world (applying a cut-off grade of 0.45%).

Camborne School of Mines was founded in 1888 to meet the demands of the booming mining industry and train a new generation of miners. In the 1900s, the organisation became internationally renowned for mining education, and in 1993 it joined the University of Exeter. Now part of the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) and based on the site of Penryn Campus in Falmouth, the organisation is ranked 8^th in the world (QS World University Rankings) for mining and minerals engineering. 

Camborne School of Mines is leading on the development of a new research centre. The £4 million ‘Deep Digital’ centre will support the research and development of digital technologies, products, services and processes.