The venture sees building products supplier GRS join forces with Tungsten West, operators of recently reopened Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine near Plympton in Devon, to sell secondary aggregate and transport it nationwide by sea and rail.
GRS says that by-products arising from mining provide sustainable sources of construction aggregate, and transportation by sea and rail produces a fraction of the carbon emissions of the equivalent road journeys.
Tungsten is the hardest metal with the highest melting point and is used in electronics, manufacturing and a range of everyday objects.
GRS says that Hemerdon mine is the world’s fourth largest tungsten reserve (and the second largest to comply with the CRIRSCO international mineral reserves reporting standards) as well as being Europe’s only source of tungsten.
Mining tungsten also gives rise to thousands of tonnes of granite, suitable for a range of secondary aggregates from bulk fill materials to single sizes for concrete and many other construction applications.
GRS will use its well-established freight network – in particular rail and marine – to efficiently transport the aggregate to construction projects across the south of England and potentially further afield. The granite aggregates will be processed on-site at Hemerdon.
Jon Fisher, CEO of GRS Group, said: “This is a true symbiotic collaboration between two like-minded businesses with shared ambitions. Not only are we helping the UK to remain self-sufficient in essential minerals, but we’re also distributing them in the most sustainable way possible."
He added that GRS already trades and transports almost 20 million tonnes of construction materials every year – around half of which is from recycled or secondary sources.
Max Denning, CEO of Tungsten West, commented on the partnership: "By GRS applying their years of experience and success across all industry verticals within the construction materials sector, Tungsten West can offer a significant new mineral resource, at scale, to the UK market. GRS brings a wealth of experience, credibility and strategic thinking that complements our approach.”
Starting this month (September) GRS expects to ramp-up secondary aggregate volumes from Hemerdon to distribute more than a million tonnes each year for the next decade and beyond. After a short lorry journey from Hemerdon, the aggregate will be loaded onto ships at Plymouth for transportation to other ports around Britain. The aggregate will also be hauled a short distance by road to nearby Marsh Mills (between Plymouth and Plympton) where it can be loaded onto trains for onward distribution via the rail network.
Through its Cornish subsidiary Maen Karne and London-based business Walsh, the GRS Group already transports secondary granite from the Cornish china clay industry into London by sea and rail. GRS says that, by volume, aggregates represent the single biggest flow of materials in the UK economy.
