UK £71m Tungsten Mine Restart Shields 50% Defence Supply

For space and defence planners, tungsten is not a niche metal: it is embedded in missiles, armour-piercing munitions, rocket nozzles and high-temperature aerospace alloys. The Government's decision to take a 7% stake in Hemerdon and reserve half its production for UK use is a direct industrial-policy move to secure a critical input in an era of escalating geopolitical tension.

The UK Government has moved to anchor its critical-minerals supply chain with a direct equity injection into the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon, pledging up to £71 million through the National Wealth Fund. Announced on 25 August 2026, the package includes £36 million for a 7% government stake in the project and a further £35 million to help restart production. Chancellor John Healey framed the decision as a security imperative, saying the world is more dangerous and that the investment will supply vital minerals to British defence, energy and aerospace businesses. The deal also gives the Government the right to ringfence 50% of Hemerdon's output for domestic use, and the National Wealth Fund says it will support about 350 jobs.

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The 7% equity stake also exposes taxpayers to downside if the venture fails, though the 50% offtake right mitigates some commercial uncertainty.

Tungsten's physical properties—hardness, heat resistance and a very high melting point—make it indispensable in machine tools, steel alloys, electronics, and particularly in defence and nuclear applications such as armour-piercing munitions, missile components and radiation shielding. Hemerdon, on the outskirts of Plymouth, is described as one of the world's largest tungsten deposits, a designation that underpins the strategic value of the intervention. Reopening it would reduce the UK's exposure to imported tungsten, a market in which China has long held dominant production and export influence. The investment is therefore as much about industrial policy as it is about mining.

From an investment standpoint, the structure is notable. Paying £36 million for 7% implies a post-money valuation of roughly £514 million for a project that in 2023 was warning of a precarious financial position. The £35 million restart tranche is directed at production rather than equity, and the Government's right to reserve half the output functions as a quasi-offtake agreement, providing demand certainty. This is not a passive bailout: the National Wealth Fund's role is catalytic, designed to crowd in private capital and give the mine a credible path back to operations. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds called the deal a vote of confidence in the UK's critical minerals sector, a signal intended to reassure both operators and downstream manufacturers.

The implications extend well beyond Devon. For the defence and nuclear sectors, access to secure tungsten is a pressing concern as Western governments reassess supply chains exposed to geopolitical chokepoints. Ringfencing 50% of production means Hemerdon can become a dedicated domestic source for British industry, potentially replacing imports for a portion of the metal used in aerospace, electronics, steel and military hardware. The 350 jobs supported by the investment also align with the Government's broader growth agenda, delivering well-paid employment in a region historically reliant on mining and manufacturing.