New owner hopes to develop Cornwall's South Crofty tin mine

Strongbow plans to mine South Crofty in Cornwall

A Canadian firm is the latest company hoping to resurrect a defunct tin mine.

Strongbow Exploration Inc said it plans to bring the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall out of administration in a deal thought to be worth about £1.4m.

The firm says South Crofty offers one of the best tin opportunities available globally.

Commercial production ended at the mine in 1998 and Strongbow Exploration is the third company attempting to restart the business.

Neil Gallacher, BBC South West Business Correspondent

It's nearly two decades since South Crofty was last in commercial production and the intervening years have taught everyone to be cautious about the prospects for restarting mining.

This third attempt is interestingly timed as commodities prices have been on a steep slide over the last few years.

However since January the tin price has rallied.

What is certain is that it is a deep and flooded mine and nobody will get serious commercial mining going here without deep pockets to match.

South Crofty, at Pool in mid Cornwall, went into administration in June 2013 when Western United Mines (WUM) blamed a failure to receive promised investment cash.

The price of tin has risen from about £3,000 a tonne in 1998 to a current price of around £17,000 a tonne.