Tungsten West gets cash from same fund that backed Rolls-Royce
Shares in this AIM company have surged after receiving money to get its business going again. Graeme Evans explains the UK government’s strategic investment.
25th August 2026 15:40
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon. Credit: Tungsten West.
The AIM-listed venture behind the restart of a Devon tungsten and tin mine today jumped in value after it tapped the same fund that backed Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE:RR.) small modular reactors.
The UK National Wealth Fund’s £71 million funding support for Tungsten West (LSE:TUN) recognises the strategic importance of the mineral for the UK’s defence, energy and aerospace businesses.
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The package completes the funding required to restart the Hemerdon project, which boasts one of the largest deposits of tungsten in the world. The company is undertaking final completion testing in readiness to start production within the third quarter of this year.
Tungsten West acquired the mine in 2019 and listed on AIM in October 2021, when its shares were issued at 60p for a market capitalisation of £106.2 million.
They bottomed at 1.25p in 2024 and were 18p in an equity fundraising earlier this year before today’s surge of 7.4p to a four-year high of 50.5p.
The proposed strategic investment by the government’s National Wealth Fund includes a 36p-a-share equity element worth £36 million for a shareholding of 7.42%.
The deal also includes a debt facility totalling £35 million and a limited negotiation period allowing the government to conclude an offtake agreement over up to 50% of the production outlined in Hemerdon’s 2025 feasibility study.
House broker Hannam & Partners said today that tungsten markets remain supportive, with the Rotterdam-listed price up by about 500% year-on-year due to reduced Chinese exports and increasing demand from defence, aerospace and industrial end-markets.
It added: “This funding package materially de-risks the restart timeline and reinforces Hemerdon’s strategic importance as a domestic source of tungsten against a backdrop of tighter Chinese exports and declining Western stockpiles.”
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Other investments by the National Wealth Fund have included April’s £599 million of financing to support Rolls-Royce with the development of its small modular reactors.
It has also backed Cornish Lithium, including September’s equity investment of up £31 million in relation to the delivery of the UK’s first commercial lithium mine at Trelavour.
The government described the Tungsten West investment as a major vote of confidence in the country’s critical minerals sector, as well as a boost to economic resilience. The project should also support growth in the South West through the creation of 350 direct jobs.
Chancellor John Healey added: “We are living in a more dangerous world, which is why backing British industry is more important than ever before. That is what this deal does. We are tapping into one of the largest deposits of tungsten in the world, right here in the UK.
“This investment will supply vital minerals to British defence, energy and aerospace businesses - and keep good, well-paid jobs in the UK.”
Alongside the funding and production plans, the company said significant offtake negotiations with a major downstream tungsten refiner were well advanced.
The ore body at Hemerdon was discovered in 1867 and has seen periods of production since the First World War, usually at moments when Britain needed it most.
The current plan to restart production has benefited from investment of more than $300 million by a previous operator, including crushing circuits, site offices, power supply, and access roads.
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Chief executive Jeff Court said today: “Hemerdon is a world-class, low cost and long-life tungsten and tin resource in the UK.
“It is extremely important to us that we prioritise UK requirements for this critical metal to support domestic demand, including strategic initiatives across defence and next generation energy.”
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