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Canadian Owner of U.K.'s Most Iconic Mine Plans London Listing

Canadian Owner of U.K.'s Most Iconic Mine Plans London Listing

(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s Strongbow Exploration Inc., which is trying to reopen one of the U.K.’s most iconic mines, plans to list in London next month.

The explorer, looking to restart production at the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, southwest England, will apply for admission to London’s lightly regulated AIM market, it said in a statement Monday. The Vancouver-based company expects its shares to list in June.

Strongbow bought South Crofty, which holds about 30,000 metric tons of tin, in 2016. The mine was closed two decades ago, bringing to an end a period of mining tin in Cornwall that dates from the Bronze Age and is hinted at in the ancient Greek writings of Herodotus. Repeated efforts by investors to revive the operation since 2001 have failed.

Strongbow said it will need to raise about 25 million pounds ($34 million) over the next 18 months to get to a stage where it can make a decision on restarting production. Tin prices have rallied more than 40 percent since early 2016.

The mine, which has production records dating back to the 16th century, is currently flooded with about a million gallons of contaminated water that will need to be pumped and treated.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Biesheuvel in London at tbiesheuvel@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin, Liezel Hill

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