
Rafaella Resources
Rafaella Resources is a junior mining company listed on the Australia Stock Exchange under the ticker RFR. It acquired the Santa Comba tungsten and tin mine in August 2019. The Santa Comba mine is located in Galicia, around 60km from A Coruña. The mine was discovered in the 1940s and operated in the 1980s as an underground mine. Rafaella is looking to restart the mine, initially with the underground and then with an open pit. Rafaella is focussed on fast tracking the restart whilst applying stringent environmental practices and controls.
Tungsten is a critical metal with the highest melting point of any metal and the second hardest material after diamond. It is used mainly in heavy machine tooling, such as the manufacturing of automobile engines and aircraft engines. It is also used extensively in drilling, from the drill tips in your home through to oil and gas and mining industries. It is considered critical as there is no ready substitute and 80% of supply comes out of China, making the security of supply a significant concern. In addition to the Santa Comba project, Rafaella also has exploration projects in Canada, focused on battery metals such as nickel, copper, and cobalt.