A Cornwall-based mining company has announced its support for a nature reserve located in the Duchy.

Cornish Lithium, the mineral exploration and development company that is headquartered at the Tremough Innovation Centre in Penryn has become a Guardian of Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve.

The site of the 7.7-acre Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve was originally used as an arsenic refinery until its closure after World War II.

It then lay derelict until it was transformed into a recreational space in 1986.

Falmouth Packet: Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve Mining Trail - Picture: Credit Cornwall Wildlife Trust Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve Mining Trail - Picture: Credit Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Intensive conservation was required to decontaminate the soil and Cornwall Wildlife Trust continued this work when the location was gifted to the Trust in 2000.

The Reserve incorporates the coast-to-coast Bissoe Trail, which was used as a mineral tramway for the copper mines around Redruth in the 1800s and is now a popular leisure destination for local families, cyclists and walkers.

Through planting and re-seeding, Cornwall Wildlife Trust has introduced a variety of vital habitats, such as heathland, grassland, bracken and scrub, which has enabled native plants and wildlife to flourish.

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The Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve now teems with life. 22 species of butterfly have been recorded there, including the rare grayling.

Jeremy Wrathall, Cornish Lithium’s Founder and CEO, said: "Wild spaces not only provide havens for our native wildlife and flora, but also offer us a place of sanctuary from the fast-paced nature of life.

"Cornish Lithium’s purpose is to establish a sustainable and environmentally-responsible mineral extraction industry in the UK that can contribute to the global goal of decarbonisation through clean growth and a transition to a green economy.

"In synergy with our environmental, social and governance strategy, we are proud to support local organisations that help to halt nature’s decline in the face of climate change by providing carbon-capturing habitats.

Falmouth Packet: Jeremy Wrathall and Rowan Hartgroves at the Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve - Picture Credit Kate HarcourtJeremy Wrathall and Rowan Hartgroves at the Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve - Picture Credit Kate Harcourt

"The fact that the Bissoe Trail is so popular with local families and links to Cornwall’s rich mining heritage, as well as its proximity to our lithium exploration site at United Downs, makes this partnership even more important to us and we look forward to spreading the word about Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s crucial activities across our networks."

Rowan Hartgroves, Corporate Partnerships Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "By becoming Reserve Guardians and sharing our vision to create a wilder Cornwall, local businesses help us to protect wildlife, increase biodiversity, combat climate change and promote the health and wellbeing of our communities.

"We welcome Cornish Lithium as a Guardian of the Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve and thank them warmly for their support."