A Cornish mineral processing company has been awarded the Cornwall grant in order to boost its productivity.

Truro-based Grinding Solutions received the £23,717 investment from BIG Productivity, a £3.1m fund that offers grants from £2,500 up to £150,000 to qualifying small and medium-sized businesses in Cornwall.

Grinding Solutions, owned by husband and wife team Nick and Felicity Wilshaw, is a mineral processing company that offers consultancy, laboratory testing, site audits and plant design to clients around the world.

The grant has allowed the company to purchase equipment that will help the company grow including a full range of pilot scale equipment, growing the services it can offer to new and existing clients.

As well as working with clients all over the world, Grinding Solutions has strong Cornish links with Nick being an alumni of the Camborne School of Mines, as well as Vice Chairman of the CSM Trust, which invests in future mining education.

The company is also currently working closely with Cornish Lithium, a mineral exploration and development company that focuses on the sustainable extraction of lithium in the battery metals industry.

Falmouth Packet: The BIG Productivity investment based Grinding Solutions to purchase equipment that will help the company grow and expand its services. (Credit:PR)The BIG Productivity investment based Grinding Solutions to purchase equipment that will help the company grow and expand its services. (Credit:PR)

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Grinding Solutions Director, Felicity, said: “This investment is really going to change what we can do and help us expand massively.

"We are the only company in the region that can offer this level of services, and we couldn’t have done it without the BIG Productivity fund.

"We assist a wide range of clients to optimise the liberation of minerals from their samples and help them to understand the best and most cost-effective liberation and extraction methods, while being mindful of environmental requirements and energy efficiencies that can be made.

"We initially completed lab-scale test work for our clients to understand if it is feasible to extract the product from the ground.

"If this is successful, we can then proceed to pilot scale testing to determine the feasibility of industrial scale minerals production.”

Anna Staevska, BIG Productivity’s programme manager, said: “Grinding Solutions is a company with deep roots in the region which provides a vital service for companies worldwide.

"BIG Productivity grant funding has supported the expansion of their offering, enabling the company to provide a fuller range of services to their customers, which, in turn, will allow them to improve their own productivity and grow their business."

BIG Productivity is supported by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme, and is delivered by Cornwall Development Company. It aims to help 175 local businesses become more productive and create 175 new jobs in the Cornish economy.