- Rafaella Resources (RFR) has updated the market on the development of the Santa Comba tungsten project in Spain
- Since its last update in February, the company has accelerated the development of its underground mining and processing operations
- As a result, first tungsten concentrate is expected in early September
- Additionally, early access to the underground ore will allow Rafaella to generate near-term cash flow and stagger operations
- Rafaella is steady on the market and shares are trading at 11 cents
Rafaella Resources (RFR) has updated the market on the development of the Santa Comba tungsten project in Spain.
Since its last update in early February, Rafaella has accelerated development of its underground mining and processing operations with first tungsten concentrate expected in early September.
These underground operations were last operated in 1985 by Coparex Minera and there are almost 7000 metres of workings with visible high-grade wolframite (iron-manganese tungsten) veins.
In August, Rafaella’s subsidiary, Galicia Tin and Tungsten, began an engineering study for the restart of operations at the underground operations.
Since then, Galicia has engaged Perforaciones del Noreste to install services, acquire ventilation equipment and undertake steps to improve access.
First concentrate will come from the remaining 18,000 tonnes of blasted rock from previous work.
Once this has been depleted, additional ore will be generated via raise mining which allows access to narrow vein mineralisation with minimal dilution.
This early access to underground ore will allow Rafaella to generate near-term cash flow and stagger operations.
“Rafaella has an existing underground permit and process plant construction permit. This allows the company to stagger the commencement of operations and generate early cash flows,” Managing Director Steven Turner said.
“The decision to accelerate the underground development is a strong vote of confidence by the company in its ability to become the next producer of tungsten in Europe,” he added.
Rafaella is steady on the market and shares are trading at 11 cents at 1:58 pm AEDT.