EMC Metals Plans to Restart Springer Tungsten Mine

EMC Metals Corp. (TSX:EMC) announced it plans to restart operations at the Springer tungsten mine and mineral processing complex located in Nevada, USA.

As quoted in the press release:

The sale process was concluded after rising tungsten prices made a near-term restart of the mine asset much more attractive to EMC than at the time the asset was first offered for sale.

The Springer tungsten mine was constructed by the General Electric Company (“GE”) in the late 1970s, commissioned in 1981, and run for only a short period before being put on care & maintenance status due to weak tungsten prices.  The mine, resource and property assets were purchased from GE by a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMC in late 2006.  EMC partially reconditioned the asset between 2006 and 2008, spending in excess of $20 million on the surface facilities and resource drilling.  Recent review and updating of various re-start plans for the mine, coupled with  current pricing levels and market supply dynamics for tungsten, present an encouraging picture on project re-start.  Once back in operation, Springer Tungsten would represent the only significant tungsten production source (WO3, in concentrate) in the USA.  The property has previously been an important source of tungsten in the USA, first mined in 1918.

Click here to read the EMC Metals Corp. (TSX:EMC) press release.