Cornish Metals has installed the first of two submersible pumps at the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall.
The Canadian-headquartered mining company has updated investors to say the pump has been installed to the target depth of 360m below surface in New Cooks Kitchen shaft at the mine near Redruth, which closed in 1998.
The pump is "an important milestone" in the AIM-listed firm's plans for dewatering South Crofty mine later this summer.
Richard Williams, chief executive and director, said: "A big 'proper job' well done to the team at South Crofty for achieving this milestone in less time than planned. This pump installation is a technical exercise and the team did a fantastic job, completing the task safely with no incidents. We anticipate the second pump to be installed by the end of July."
Read more: Cornwall pushes forward green energy investment potential
The pumps are specialist high-head 950 kW vertical submersible pumps manufactured by KSB in Germany, controlled by variable speed drives to enable the 25,000 cubic metres (m 3 ) per day pumping rate to the Mine Water Treatment Plant.
Work on the Mine Water Treatment Plant continues with 95% mechanical completion, and work is now focused on the electrical and instrumentation installation. It is anticipated that the plant commissioning will be completed later this summer and mine dewatering to commence immediately thereafter.
Earlier this month the company updated inventors to say it had made “good progress”, as it targets production in 2026.
Why not sign up to get the latest South West business news straight to your inbox.
