UK's Cornish Metals Completes £135 Million Tin Mine Financing

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 22, UK mining company Cornish Metals announced the completion of a conditional equity financing totaling £135 million (approximately US$181 million) to raise construction funds for the restart of the South Crofty tin mine project in Cornwall, UK. The financing was conducted through three channels: institutional placement, subscription by strategic investors, and a retail investor offering, involving a total of 225 million new ordinary shares at an issue price of £0.60 per share. The company plans to use this equity financing together with the previously issued US$210 million bond to support mine construction and target first tin production by mid-2028.

In this financing round, the institutional placement raised £20.4 million, strategic and other investors subscribed directly for £108.6 million, and retail investors subscribed for £6 million. The UK National Wealth Fund invested £41.7 million, Vision Blue Resources invested £39.3 million, Glencore invested approximately £11.2 million, Leonidsport invested £13.4 million, and other directors and investors subscribed for a total of approximately £3 million. The financing transactions remain subject to shareholder approval, and Cornish Metals has scheduled a general meeting on November 9 to consider the relevant resolutions.

Under the financing arrangements, Cornish Metals will use existing cash, new equity proceeds, and bond financing for the development of the South Crofty mine. The company's funding plan announced on October 20 totals approximately £302 million, of which £185 million is allocated to mine capital expenditure, covering underground drift development, mine hoisting systems and shaft refurbishment, ore processing facilities, and related surface works. A further £55 million is for the settlement of existing financing arrangements, £32 million for bond interest payments during construction and ramp-up, £12 million for corporate and financing costs, and the remainder for working capital, liquidity, and other arrangements.

Cornish Metals completed the placement of US$210 million in six-year senior secured bonds in May 2026, with an annual coupon of 13.5%. The bond proceeds are currently subject to escrow conditions; after this equity financing meets the previously stipulated minimum financing threshold of US$161 million, relevant conditions must still be fulfilled before the bond funds can be drawn. The company plans to combine the equity and bond financings into the funding package for the South Crofty tin mine construction.

In addition to participating in the equity subscription, Glencore has also signed a six-year tin product offtake agreement with Cornish Metals' subsidiary South Crofty Limited, under which it will participate in the future sales arrangements for the mine's tin products. Shaft restoration, underground development, and processing plant construction preparations are already underway at the mine site. The service hoist for the new Cook's Kitchen shaft has arrived on site and foundation installation has been completed, the production hoist equipment has also arrived, earthworks for the processing plant are essentially complete, and civil works are progressing.

The Glencore offtake agreement runs for six consecutive years from the start of commercial production, covers all tin concentrate produced at the South Crofty mine, and sets a cumulative delivery baseline of at least 27,513 metric tons of contained metal. The two parties have also signed a term sheet for a revolving working capital loan of up to US$10 million, which is arranged separately from this equity subscription.