January Cornish Mining Sundowner

It was good to see so many at last night's sundowner at the County Arms Hotel in Truro.

There were a few new faces and I was particularly pleased to see Penny Davies at her first sundowner. Penny is the partner of Dean Eastbury, by far the best of the many Elsevier Executive Publishing Managers who worked with me on my time as Editor-in-Chief of Minerals Engineering. Dean is now retired in Hayle, three train station stops from Truro and is a regular sundowner attendee.

Penny and Dean (centre) with Barbara and me

There was good news this month that one of our fairly regular attendees at the sundowners, Frances Wall, Professor of Applied Mineralogy at Camborne School of Mines and one of the world’s foremost experts on critical minerals and mining, has been awarded an OBE for services to Geoscience and Sustainable Resource Development in the King's New Year's Honours List.

Frances is a former Head of CSM, currently leading and taking part in large research projects on technology metals, circular economy, digital transformation and regional development, as well as teaching geology and mining and serving in various roles such as chair of the British Geological Survey Science Advisory Committee, trustee of the CSM Trust, Cornish Institute of Engineers and the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. She was recipient of the William Smith Medal of the Geological Society in 2019 and nominated one of the 100 Global Inspiration Women in Mining 2016. In 2018 she presented a keynote lecture at MEI's Process Mineralogy '18 in Cape Town. Congratulations, Frances on behalf of us all.

Frances Wall (left) at Process Mineralogy '18

On Tuesday,there was a meeting on Cornish critical minerals at No. 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor for Business and Trade.  The meeting covered the importance of Cornwall for critical minerals projects and highlighted the tin/ tungsten/ lithium opportunities. Cornish Lithium's Jeremy Wrathall highlighted the lithium opportunity, alongside Fawzi Hanano, Cornish Metals plc for tin and Dennis Rowland, Cornwall Resources Limited for tungsten. Industry association representatives Ola Zawalna, of Cornwall Mining and Geo-Resources Alliance and Kirsty Benham of the Critical Minerals Association (UK) attended on behalf of the wider industry, including Imerys British Lithium Ltd, Tungsten West plc, Cornish Tin Ltd and Geothermal Engineering Ltd. 

The meeting was another positive development in UK Government support for the critical minerals sector, which needs engagement at the highest levels of government to ensure UK global competitiveness in the critical minerals space and grow the businesses that will help to secure critical mineral supply chains domestically and alongside partner nations. 

We are back at Falmouth's Chain Locker for the next sundowner, on Thursday February 19th, from 5.30pm.

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