After a year-long construction effort in 2018 the new processing facilities at Saloro’s Barruecopardo Tungsten mine, in Spain, are being brought into production during the early part of 2019. As seen above the multi-stage crushing and screening plant was the first part to be readied for testing with the main concentrator following closely behind. The state-of-the-art production facility, that combines both modern day technology and traditional minerals processing systems, will treat a Scheelite ore mined at site to produce a Tungsten (WO3) rich concentrate that will account for around 13% of non-Chinese global supply of tungsten concentrates.
The Barruecopardo mine has a history dating back almost 100 years. It is located in the Salamanca Province of western Spain, an area of substantial historic tungsten production. For the majority of its operating life Barruecopardo was the largest tungsten mine in Spain, producing a high-quality tungsten concentrate from an open-pit mining and related processing operations. Activities ceased at the old mine in the early 1980’s.
Since Saloro’s inception in 2004 it has diligently advanced studies, permitting and funding activities related to its project for the re-opening of the Barruecopardo mine and has been supported by Fairport Engineering since 2014 in the plant design and engineering aspects. Please see the Drone Flyover (below) for more views of the project.
