Tungsten West, Critical Minerals, and the UK Mining Comeback

In this episode we chat to Jeff Court, CEO of Tungsten West, an AIM market listed mining company who own and operate the Hemerdon Mine at Drakelands, South Devon, in the UK; one of the world’s largest tungsten resources who are going to bring the Hemerdon mine back into full production   We discuss the restart of the mine, the project’s progress towards commissioning, the significance of recent UK Government support and funding, the UK mining industry and the key steps ahead as Tungsten West moves towards production.   Jeff also shares lessons from more than 30 years in mining and his experience delivering projects around the world and much more. KEY TAKEAWAYS Backed by a £71 million funding package that includes the UK government as a strategic equity partner, Tungsten West has fully funded Hemerdon through to commercial production. The company rapidly transitioned from securing capital to launching operations within roughly one week, running plant refurbishment and early production in parallel with ongoing new construction. Hemerdon represents one of the world’s largest tungsten deposits outside China, positioning the UK as a critical supplier of raw materials for domestic defense and clean-energy supply chains. To overcome regional recruitment shortages in Devon, the operation is prioritizing local hiring, on-the-job training, and transferrable problem-solving skills over prior mining experience. BEST MOMENTS "We're probably one of the fastest projects you'll ever see from 'we're fully funded' to 'we're producing', and give or take we're about a week in between those two processes." "We now have the UK government as a long-term strategic equity partner in the project, and that means a huge amount to us." "If someone said to me, could you do the same for a project that might be sitting in remote parts of Canada right now? I'd say, 'Hey Rob, come and talk to me in about 12 years.'" "If you said what would be the rulebook before you started in this CEO role, I think, mate, you'd probably have thrown it out about twice since I joined and rewritten it again multiple times." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES ●      https://www.tungstenwest.com/ ●      https://www.linkedin.com/company/tungsten-west-plc/posts/ ●      https://x.com/TungstenWest?lang=en ●       https://www.instagram.com/popular/tungsten-west/ CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Daniel Muñiz, Executive Chairman of Sinda, an emerging silver discovery in Mexico with the potential to become one of Latin America’s largest primary silver assets.   We explore the story behind the discovery, what makes Sinda particularly exciting from a geological perspective, and the opportunity that remains across a project where around 74% is still significantly underexplored.   Daniel also talks us through the strategy of expanding the existing resource while pursuing district-scale exploration, the challenges of advancing both simultaneously, and what the next phase of work could unlock.   Finally, we look at Mexico’s position as the world’s leading silver-producing country, why it continues to generate world-class discoveries, and the role projects such as Sinda could play in meeting growing global demand for silver. KEY TAKEAWAYS The Cinda project hosts an estimated 800-million-ounce silver-equivalent resource within Mexico’s historic silver belt, positioned to become one of Latin America's largest primary silver assets. Despite its already substantial footprint, only 26% of the 6,200-hectare property and 36% of mapped veins have been drilled, signalling significant district-scale expansion potential. Backed by $330 million raised from its IPO, the company is advancing underground decline development while running an extensive drilling fleet to target production by 2031. Cinda navigates Mexico’s evolving regulatory landscape by treating community, environment, security, technical skill, and permitting as integrated priorities to de-risk development. BEST MOMENTS ""It's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving... it’s an elephant, a tiger by the tail, a whale—it will be more than one billion ounces, and we are just scratching the surface today." "In communities, it's not just about winning passive social license; it's about generating active community sponsorship." "I think people believe mining in Mexico has become very restrictive, but that's wrong—it's not restrictive, it is selective. If you keep to the rules of good practice, you really get things done." "I am very convinced that all silver roads lead to Mexico." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES ●      https://www.linkedin.com/company/sindamx/ ●      https://sinda.mx/en/ ●      https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587560758521 ●      https://www.instagram.com/sindamexico/ CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Matthew Rowlinson, President and CEO at Solaris Resources to discuss the development of Warintza in Ecuador, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper projects.   We explore what differentiates Warintza from other major copper discoveries, the critical steps required to move a resource of this scale towards construction, and how Solaris is thinking about financing and ownership as the project becomes increasingly de-risked.   We also look at the wider copper market in particular; why the industry isn’t building enough new mines despite forecasts of a future supply shortage, the growing importance of geopolitics and China’s role in downstream refining, and what the mining industry needs to do to secure the social and political support required to develop the next generation of major copper mines. KEY TAKEAWAYS Warintza is an open-pit copper porphyry project in southeastern Ecuador boasting a 5.8-billion-tonne resource, a 55-year mine life, and an advantageous 0.5-to-1 strip ratio. Solaris is targeting mid-2027 to achieve a fully permitted status, aiming for a final investment decision (FID) by the end of 2027 followed by an estimated three-year build. Upstream mine ownership does not guarantee supply security because Western development has lagged behind China's dominant 50% to 60% share of global smelting and refining capacity. The primary barrier to meeting the global copper shortage is not the lack of raw resources, but the lengthy timelines and the scarcity of projects that have successfully aligned permitting, social license, and technical studies into a truly financeable package. BEST MOMENTS "There’s a difference between a very good ore body, a good project, and ultimately a financeable project... in the world today there's very few projects that are actually probably financeable." "Mining is really the procurement arm of the world... industrialization and urbanization has only happened through ultimately mining." "Western governments are looking at independence of supply chains... However, owning a mine in Latin America, owning a mine in the DRC... does not necessarily solve the supply chain issue because your concentrates are ultimately going to go to China to be processed." "Partnership... is not necessarily just about bringing in capital. It’s really about bringing in expertise, bringing in a balance sheet that really is solid, and the ability to go and construct." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES https://www.solarisresources.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/solaris-resources-inc/?originalSubdomain=ca https://x.com/SolarisResource Email address: [email protected] CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Andrew Chubb, CEO of Awale Resources, to discuss the company’s exploration journey at the Odienné Gold-Copper Project in Côte d’Ivoire and what it really takes to make a significant mineral discovery.   We explore what gave Andrew the early conviction to keep pushing at Odienné what the successes and importantly the failures have taught the team, and what still needs to be demonstrated for the project to emerge as a significant gold-copper district.   We also get Andrew’s perspective on the wider exploration industry: how technology is changing the way we explore, knowing when to keep drilling or walk away, why billions spent on exploration aren’t resulting in more major discoveries, and what advice he would give the next generation of geologists. KEY TAKEAWAYS Disciplined mineral exploration relies on letting incoming data continuously refine deposit models rather than becoming emotionally attached to initial theories. Côte d’Ivoire has evolved into a premier mining-friendly jurisdiction due to forward-thinking policy, rapid 4-year development timelines, and extensive regional electrification. The lack of tier-one discoveries from massive global exploration spending highlights the advantage agile junior explorers have over large producers when executing field programs. Having significant exploration capital requires geologists to maintain financial discipline, evaluate mining economics early, and avoid overextending on early-stage targets. BEST MOMENTS "If you look at it from a geologist perspective... there’s sort of a bit of a joke that goes around geologists of 'he who sees the most rocks wins'." "People ask the question, you know, 'Would you put your house on a project?' I effectively did... I was all in, if you like, from a poker perspective." "I sort of have a philosophy of you never completely discount a target, you just put it on the shelf. Because the next one... might actually give you insights into what you got wrong on the last one." "Don’t think that you’ve got—'Oh, I’ve got 20 million bucks, I can do what I like'... Still think about your budgets carefully and how you’re going to apply them, and let the geology tell the story." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES ●      https://awaleresources.ca/ ●      https://www.linkedin.com/company/awale-resources/ ●      https://x.com/AwaleResources ●       https://www.youtube.com/@AwaleResources CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode, we chat to Steele Hemmerich, President of MetPro (Metal Prospecting AS), a copper and zinc exploration company in Norway's Grong VMS District. He brings a rare blend of hands-on field experience and capital markets execution. He started his career in the oil and gas industry before moving into corporate finance, where he worked on transactions across the mining, oil and gas, and technology sectors. Based in Dubai, he's evaluated mining projects across Europe, Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, and calls MetPro one of the most exciting he's come across, thanks to its drill-defined resource, Tier-1 jurisdiction and established infrastructure. In this episode, Steele joins the show to talk about MetPro's copper-zinc project in Norway and what it takes to bring a brownfield VMS district back into production. KEY TAKEAWAYS MetPro is fast-tracking the drill-defined Skiftesmyr copper-zinc deposit in Central Norway’s prolific Grong VMS district toward updated 43-101 compliance and pre-feasibility readiness. Built on decades of historical exploration and production data, the project benefits from tier-one infrastructure including direct access to highways, renewable hydropower, rail lines, and deepwater ports. The company’s multi-phase exploration program aims to expand resources beyond 6 million tonnes by testing open depths, strike extensions, and unaccounted high-grade gold and silver mineralization. MetPro is strategically positioned to help close the EU’s critical raw materials supply gap by leveraging predictable Scandinavian permitting standards and brownfield development speed. BEST MOMENTS "We have over 18,000 meters of modern diamond drilling completed, so this isn't a story about starting from a blank page; we're building on decades of historical development." "A great financial model built on shaky technical data is still a shaky project, no matter how clean the spreadsheet looks." "Domestic mining is only covering maybe a quarter of what Europe actually consumes... it's currently above the minimum 10% that the CRMA is targeting, but it's still a long way off of being self-sufficient." "Brownfield, previously drilled, tier-one jurisdiction with existing infrastructure—those can move from resource to production far faster than a greenfield discovery." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES Email: [email protected] and [email protected] Website: www.metproas.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metpro-metal-prospecting-as/ CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Haytham Hodaly, President and CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals, one of the world's leading precious metals streaming companies.  We discuss Haytham's journey from joining Wheaton over a decade ago to leading the business today, explore how the streaming model is reshaping mine finance, and examine the record-breaking Antamina silver streaming transaction with BHP. We also look at the outlook for precious metals, where Wheaton sees its next growth opportunities, and what investors should be watching over the coming year. KEY TAKEAWAYS Non-dilutive financing model: Streaming provides mining operators with upfront development capital at a fixed production cost with no dilution, debt covenants, or repayment burdens. Monumental portfolio expansion: Wheaton’s recent milestone $4.3 billion silver streaming transaction with BHP underscores strong validation and demand for streaming among tier-one global miners. Significant built-in growth: Backed by fully funded and permitted construction projects, Wheaton is on track to increase production by 50%, targeting approximately 1.2 million gold equivalent ounces by 2030. Strong precious metals outlook: Long-term fundamentals remain bullish, supported by gold’s safe-haven role against currency weakness and silver’s accelerating demand across solar, electric vehicles, and AI data centres. BEST MOMENTS "We provide upfront capital to mining companies in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of their future metal production at a fixed rate... that provides our counterparties with financing with no dilution, no debt, and no significant covenants or repayment burdens." "What we're trying to position ourselves as is the highest quality, lowest cost, strongest growth portfolio in the industry with the lowest risk profile." "Silver's got those great conductive properties which will also make it incredibly important in the AI expansion... AI data centres typically require almost three times more silver than a typical data center." "Every transaction has to be an accretive transaction... it’s not just deploying capital, it’s disciplined capital allocation." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES Website: https://www.wheatonpm.com/overview/default.aspx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wheatonpm/ X: https://x.com/Wheaton_PM Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WheatonPM/ CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we speak to Hugh Broadhurst, COO at Aclara Resources to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing the critical minerals industry: how the West can build a secure and competitive rare earth supply chain outside of China. We’ll explore Aclara’s development of SPREC, its plans to connect South American resources with separation capabilities in the United States, and how AI, pilot plants and strategic partnerships could help accelerate the journey from development into commercial production. We continue to discuss the risks of scaling technology from pilot to commercial operations, what can and can’t be accelerated through AI, and why simply discovering more rare earth deposits isn’t enough to create genuine supply-chain independence. KEY TAKEAWAYS Simply discovering raw mineral deposits does not ensure independence; true supply chain security requires full control over refining, separation, and metallurgical capabilities. Vertical integration reduces commercial and operational risks by allowing upstream mining operations to be balanced specifically for the chemistry and ratios needed downstream. Scaling chemical processes from pilot to commercial production often fails due to basic mechanical material-handling challenges rather than errors in chemical theory. Artificial intelligence and digital twins help convert the complex "art" of multi-stage separation into an exact science by modeling dynamic feedback loops and time variability. BEST MOMENTS "It’s not just the molecule you’re trying to sell, it’s what comes with it." "Having the control means we understand our deposits, we understand the variability, and then it’s just about managing it." "The goal here is to take the art out of it and apply science." "It’s often not the basic process that doesn’t work, it’s these annoying little things that happen... everywhere where there's solids, that's what I like to look for." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES https://www.aclara-re.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/aclararesources/ https://www.instagram.com/aclara.br/ https://x.com/AclaraResources CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Richard Bowley, who is a highly experienced mining executive who has spent more than 20 years leading projects across emerging markets.   We discuss and explore the realities of delivering mining projects in challenging jurisdictions, the importance of leadership, governance and ESG, why projects run over budget and behind schedule, and the lessons Richard has learned from advising companies, investors and governments throughout his career. KEY TAKEAWAYS Cultural integration and local relationship-building are just as critical to project survival in emerging markets as technical engineering. Front-end engineering investment during feasibility studies prevents massive downstream capital blowouts and schedule delays. Governance failures undermine entire ESG efforts, as a lack of transparency quickly erodes trust with host governments and local stakeholders. Owner teams must empower appointed EPC/EPCM contractors to execute their roles rather than micromanaging and hindering project delivery. BEST MOMENTS "Look at your feet... You're not in London now. So whatever you think you know, park it." "If you just go into a country and think it's about technical delivery, you will fail. 100%." "10% extra on engineering at the front end of any feasibility study, for me, is critical." "Everything you do well instantly becomes destroyed because if the governance aspects of a project or a business in any country become questionable, that trust that you've built... just gets torn down." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bowley-842ba818/  CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we chat to Randy Turner, President and CEO of Independence Gold. Randy is a highly regarded geologist with a track record of discovering, advancing and creating value from mineral projects. He played a key role in the discovery of the Snap Lake diamond deposit, later acquired by De Beers, and was also involved in the early history of what became Artemis Gold's Blackwater mine. In this episode we discuss what attracted him to the 3Ts Gold Project in British Columbia, the project's fascinating journey from Teck to Independence Gold, what he looks for in a successful discovery, how technology is transforming exploration, and what's next for the 3Ts project. KEY TAKEAWAYS Randy Turner brings over 55 years of geological expertise to Independence Gold, having previously played a key role in major discoveries such as the Snap Lake diamond deposit and the early acquisition of the Blackwater gold project. Independence Gold is focusing its exploration efforts on the 3Ts Gold Project in British Columbia, which sits adjacent to the massive 20-million-ounce Blackwater gold deposit. Successful modern mineral exploration relies on combining advanced technologies like AI, geophysics, and geochemistry with traditional, boots-on-the-ground geological analysis. Independence Gold operates as a pure-play exploration company with a target strategy to grow the 3Ts resource to approximately 1 million gold-equivalent ounces before seeking a buyer or development partner BEST MOMENTS "In most cases around the world, all the easy deposits have been found... It's now taking more geology, back to the basics of geology—technologies, AI, geophysics, geochemistry." "We can't totally rely upon technology to make all these discoveries—we still have to be using our brains and our geological backgrounds to put all this together." "Good old boot and hammer work is what we call it—geologists getting out, banging rocks, and almost sniffing the core, looking at it, studying it." "We're explorationists—we're there to find, we're there to discover. But you bring in the other guys, the more senior companies, that will look at it to develop it and put it into production." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES Website:  ingold.ca Email: [email protected] X: x.com/InGold_Corp LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/company/independence-gold-corp CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

In this episode we speak to Pat Risner, President of South32 Hermosa project in Arizona who are advancing a multi-metal critical minerals development in the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona targeting zinc, manganese, silver, lead, and copper.   In this conversation we discuss what makes Hermosa such a strategically important project, the recent progress on permitting, and why Pat describes it as "a different kind of mine." We'll also explore his leadership journey, the company's approach to safety, community and Tribal engagement, the role of innovation and remote operations, and what the mining industry needs to do to develop the next generation of talent. KEY TAKEAWAYS The Hermosa project has the potential to produce up to five critical minerals including zinc, manganese, and copper, helping address supply chain vulnerabilities and foreign reliance for the United States. By design, Hermosa minimises its environmental footprint using 90% less water than traditional historical operations, a battery-electric underground fleet, and a total land disturbance of just 700 acres over up to 70 years of operation. South32 established relationships with local communities and native tribes four to five years prior to submitting permit applications, allowing stakeholder input to directly shape project design and avoid cultural or environmental impacts. By placing its remote operating facility (Centro) in Nogales, the project removes traditional mining employment barriers and supports a goal of a minimum 80% local workforce. BEST MOMENTS "We all guarantee everyone goes home safe and well... 'Guarantee' is a very emotive, provocative word when we talk about safety in mining, but that's deliberate. It's on purpose; it drives and ensures we have the right conversations." "The concept is: the earlier you engage with deliberate intent that you want to design a project that's less impactful... you have to start really, really early so it's robust and meaningful consultation." "For most of my mining career, we just didn't tell our story in the industry... It was more about not being seen than telling your story, and so I think that's changing—and I think it has to change." "We had to address the historical challenges around our industry that have made it less acceptable to society, and that's where the 'different kind of mine' piece goes in." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES ●      Social ○      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/south32-hermosa/ ○      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/South32Hermosa ○      TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@south32ltd ●      Website: https://www.south32hermosa.com/en_us ●      Contact/Email: [email protected] CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/