SOUTH CROFTY MOVES CLOSER TO RE-OPENING

BASERESULT, the owners of South Crofty mine, are making massive steps towards bringing mining profit and pride back to Cornwall.

In the last few weeks, workers have been transferring processing equipment from Wheal Jane mine near Truro, to South Crofty in Pool, Redruth.

It is part of an eight-month programme, which will see the equipment being refurbished, repaired and re-installed at South Crofty, prior to the mine re-opening more than eight years after its closure.

“This is such a positive step forward we are really pleased,” said Baseresult chairman, David Stone.

“At the moment the equipment is being transferred and worked on by our own staff but when the time comes to re-install it we shall need to employ extra staff.”

Baseresult owns all the equipment at Wheal Jane and Mr Stone explained that it has been a real asset to discover so much of it can be salvaged and re-used to make South Crofty operational again.

He said: “If we didn’t have this equipment it would have cost millions of pounds to buy. It’s all mineral processing equipment, which will be used on the surface of the mine.

“We have found flotation cells, hydrosizers, pumps, mill sections, platforms, a cyclone bank and at least 55 gravity separation tables. We are bringing several lorry loads of it a day over to the South Crofty site.”

Mr Stone went on to explain that although there is enough milling equipment at Wheal Jane for the processing side of South Crofty, some additional pieces will have to be bought in before mining can begin again in earnest.

27 March 2006