Hemerdon mine: proposal for more lorries to pass through

A public consultation is set to take place into a tungsten mine in Devon as 300 vehicle movements a day is proposed.

The disused Hemerdon Mine, Plympton was taken over by Tungsten West in 2019.

The week-long consultation will begin on Thursday focused on the plan for 300 vehicles to pass to and from the site a day by 2026.

CEO Max Denning said workers will do all they can to "minimise the impact" on surrounding communities.

The existing planning condition currently allows for up to 50 HGV exports per day from the site.

Tungsten West will propose to increase the number to a maximum of 150 vehicles per day for the first two years, and gradually rise to 300.

Vehicle movements will be monitored in agreement with the mineral planning authority and will take place from Monday to Friday between 7:00 and 19:00 GMT.

On Saturdays it will be between 8:00 and 14:00 GMT, with no distribution on Sundays.

Mr Denning said: "We want to be a good neighbour and we will work with people in the surrounding communities to make sure we do all we can to minimise the impact of the mine on their daily lives.

"We want to become part of the community and we know it will take time to build trust - we are absolutely prepared to put in the effort."

He added about 300 permanent members of staff will be employed at the mine, which plans to open later this year to early 2023.

It will produce tin and sell waste granite as aggregate for the construction industry.

The mine was previously operated by Australian mining company Wolf Minerals Ltd, but it filed for administration in 2018.

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