The London-listed company which wants to extract one of the world’s largest tungsten deposits from a site in Devon is in talks with investors to raise tens of millions of pounds from a share sale. Sky News has learnt that Tungsten West is close to finalising the terms of an equity-raise aimed at providing additional financing for the tin and tungsten project at Hemerdon in Devon. Industry sources suggested the capital-raising, which is likely to secure between £40m and £50m of new funding, was likely to be confirmed this week. Money latest: The 32 NatWest branches due to close. The fundraising comes as global demand for critical minerals soars amid rising geopolitical tensions. Tungsten is a key mineral used by manufacturers in a variety of industries, most notably in defence, energy and automotive. China is currently responsible for producing about 80% of the world’s supply of tungsten, but export controls have raised profound concerns in Western economies, particularly the US. Only this week it emerged that the US planned to invest $12bn in stockpiling critical minerals such as rare earths, copper and lithium. Tungsten West believes that over time it can produce roughly a quarter of the world’s non-Chinese tungsten.
The company floated on London’s junior AIM market in 2021 with the aim of restarting tin and tungsten production at the Devon site. In an update to the stock market earlier this week, the company said it was making good progress on raising debt finance for the project. «The structural shift in the tungsten market that we have seen since the end of 2024 reflects the ever growing need to provide critical mineral diversification and supply chain resilience to Western economies,» Jeff Court, the chief executive of Tungsten West, said in the statement. «In the relatively short time since releasing the Updated Feasibility Study, tungsten prices have increased over 200% and tin prices over 70%. «As the company is fully leveraged to market prices, the Project’s economics have vastly improved, underlining the importance of advancing the Project rapidly.» Read more: How Trump tariffs are harming UK metal industry.
Shares in Tungsten West closed on Wednesday at 29.9p, a rise of close to 13%. It has a market value of just over £205m. The price at which the new shares would be issued was unclear. Tungsten West declined to comment on Wednesday evening.
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