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SURFACE DRILLING BEGINS AT DUCHY COLLEGE. 18 August 2010
WUM controls 150 square kilometres of mineral rights around Cornwall - from as far south as the Lizard to land north of Bodmin – and the drilling is part of its strategy to speed up the process of getting the company into full production by pinpointing where potential economic mineral deposits are located.
Designed to cause minimum disruption and disturbance, the exploration drill rigs occupy a very compact area during their 2-3 weeks work at each drilling site. The drills are collecting core samples up to 300 metres (1000 ft) from surface.
"Our mineral rights cover a vast area of prospective geology and it makes sense to identify potentially viable deposits quickly across wide swathes of the county," said Chief Operations Officer John Webster. "The main targets of the present drilling are disseminated lower grade, higher tonnagezinc and copper mineralisation that is much closer to surface and that we can therefore develop much faster and extract at far less cost than our much deeper underground developments at the South Crofty site.
"South Crofty represents a comparatively tiny part of our mineral rights holdings and rapid development of projects within a 5, 10 and 20 mile radius of the present headquarters is a cornerstone to our overall operational strategy. Cornwall has a wealth of valuable mineralisation and we want to identify and develop any potential ore bodies as quickly and efficiently as possible for the economic benefit of all."
Duchy College Rosewarne is a further education college specialising in land-based studies. Set in 47 hectares, its facilities include an onsite commercial plant nursery and farm.
"We are happy for WUM to be drilling at Duchy College as we are keen to encourage activities which could lead to Cornwall becoming more self-supporting," said College Estates Manager Nick Pascoe. "Mining is part of this county's heritage and any finds could aid our community greatly in the future."
The exploration drilling at Rosewarne is expected to continue for the next three or four months. Mineral targets at other surface locations are being identified to enable the exploration programme to continue after that.
