Tungsten West to begin operations at Hemerdon Mine

Over the last few weeks, the Environment Agency has undertaken checks to ensure Tungsten West met all our regulatory conditions and controls to commence operations at Hemerdon Mine as detailed in our Local Enforcement Position (LEP)

While Tungsten West was able to begin testing equipment at Hemerdon Mine, it could not operate the temporary mobile crushing and screening equipment or the mining waste facility until we were satisfied all conditions had been met.

We have now completed our regulatory checks and can confirm that Tungsten West can begin operations at Hemerdon Mine.

Tungsten West will still need to apply to vary its environmental permit to use the mobile crushing and screening equipment after the LEP expires. When we receive the application, we will begin a public consultation so people can review the proposals and share their views.

If you experience issues associated with operations at Hemerdon mine, the site is regulated by both ourselves and the mineral planning authority (Devon County Council) and South Hams District Council where activities not otherwise regulated by the EA or DCC could give rise to statutory nuisance.

We recognise that with multiple regulators for the site, identifying who to report any potential issues could become confusing. We work closely with both councils and meet regularly to share information, discuss complaints and address community concerns. We would suggest reporting concerns directly to Tungsten West, but also if any complaints made to the Environment Agency (Incident Hotline: 0800 807060), Devon County Council (planning@devon.gov.uk) or South Hams District Council (environmentalhealth@swdevon.gov.uk) are sent to the wrong organisation, we will help ensure the relevant information reaches the correct authority.