TIDMTHR
Thor Mining PLC
05 June 2020
5 June 2020
THOR MINING PLC
US URANIUM/VANADIUM SITE DUE DILIGENCE COMMENCES
The directors of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM,
ASX: THR) are pleased to advise the commencement of field
activities associated with the due diligence assessment for the
acquisition of American Vanadium Pty Ltd (AVU) , which holds
interests in uranium and vanadium focussed projects in Colorado and
Utah in the United States of America. The Company announced on 1
June 2020 an option agreement to acquire AVU, subject to
satisfaction of due diligence requirements.
In addition, investigations to date, while not yet complete,
have revealed no regulatory or environmental issues which would
cast doubt on the transaction. Some historical data has been
obtained, allowing a preliminary understanding of some potential
opportunities.
Highlights:
-- The Thor team based in Colorado has commenced field due
diligence activities consisting of site reviews and sampling from
historical mines around the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain.
-- Historical data reviews show substantial previous mining
activity in the western portion of the Wedding Bell claims
(Colorado), with the geology trending into the untested eastern
portion of the claims.
-- At the Utah Claims, located approximately 40km north of the
town of Moab, 1980's drilling reported significant uranium and
vanadium mineralisation from within the Brushy Basin Member of the
Jurassic Morrison Formation, however the deeper and normally higher
grade Salt Wash Member remains substantially untested.
-- Anecdotal reports suggest that historical mining practices in
the region often selectively recovered high grade material, leaving
vanadium rich mineralisation, above and/or below the uranium rich
zones.
-- Sampling and field based activities are expected to continue
for the next week, with results planned to be released later this
month.
Mick Billing, Executive Chairman of Thor Mining, commented:
Our Colorado based team have mobilised quickly and commenced a
sampling program from the historical mines around Wedding Bell and
Radium Mountain mines, along with other field due diligence
activities. They have also, utilising their contacts, sourced
additional historical records of mining and drilling activity in
each project area which has, to date, reinforced our decision to
progress this opportunity."
"We look forward to the results of this work and will provide
further updates on progress as they become available."
PROJECT ACQUISITION
On June 1(st) 2020 the Company advised it had acquired an
exclusive option to acquire 100% of the shares in American Vanadium
Pty Ltd, a private Australian company, which in turn owns 100% each
of the shares in Colorado company Standard Minerals INC (Standard),
and Utah company Cisco Minerals INC (Cisco).
Colorado Claims
Standard holds 199 contiguous Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
claims in south west Colorado, and within the Uravan Mineral Belt.
The claims include the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain groups of
mines which are reported to have operated during the first world
war and again in the second half of the 20(th) century (USGS
Professional paper 300(a) ).
(a) https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp300
The review team has commenced the field phase of the assessment
of these claims, including detailed sampling of underground
workings which will complement the continuing review of historical
production and drilling data.
The Uravan Mineral Belt and adjacent uranium-vanadium mining
districts of the Colorado Plateau are reported to have produced,
over the past 100 years, in excess of 85million lbs U3O8 and over
660 million lbs of V2O5 (2) from the Salt Wash sandstone formation
of the Plateau. The average production grades from the Uravan
Mineral Belt from the 1940's to January 1979 are reported be 0.25%
U3O8 and 1.29% V2O5 (Thamm. et al., 1981 (b) ) Average vanadium to
uranium ratios are reported to vary from 0.5 : 1 to 40 : 1.
(b) www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6512174
Literature search to date appears to show that the eastern third
of the Wedding Bell claim (Figure 2) has been precluded from
historic mine production with no evidence found to indicate the
area does not host a continuation of Salt Wash Formation uranium
vanadium mineralisation.
Utah Claims
Cisco holds 100 BLM claims in south east Utah approximately 40km
north of the town of Moab. There is reporting of significant
uranium and vanadium mineralised body(ies) from drilling activities
by Hunt Oil, Mineral Division, in 1980 and 1981, reported by Terra
Ventures (TSX-V: TAS) in a report dated May 21 2007.
https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/miscellaneous/terra-ventures-20070521.pdf
Thor Mining wishes to reiterate that the Hunt Oil estimate 1980
- 81 does not comply with either the JORC or NI 43-101 guidelines
for mineral resource reporting and is therefore not a valid
resource estimate. The Hunt Oil estimate does however provide
substantial indication of widespread uranium - vanadium
mineralisation in the Cisco mineral claims in a similar geological
setting to multiple deposits elsewhere in the region including the
previously mined Colorado mineral claims included in this
acquisition.
Available data to date of the Vanadium King (Utah) historical
drilling suggest that the drilling programs focussed upon
mineralisation in the Brushy Basin Member of the Jurassic Morrison
Formation. Thor's local consultants have suggested that the deeper
and normally higher grade Salt Wash Member may remain substantially
untested. Historical mining of the nearby Thompson Creek group of
mines have historically produced high grade ore from the Salt Wash
Member - a likely focus for future work by Thor.
MARKET OUTLOOK FOR URANIUM AND VANADIUM
Uranium
The price of Uranium currently sits at US$34/lb of U O (
www.kitcometals.com/ ), with forecasters predicting that demand is
likely to be greater than existing supply in the mid term. In
addition demand is expected to be boosted the US Department of
Energy has released a plan to boost the US energy industry,
including a US$150 million reserve proposal which would include
purchasing inventory from domestic producers.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/500155-trump-administration-aims-to-buy-uranium-for-reserve-as-soon-as
Vanadium
The price of Vanadium currently sits at US$13.12/Kg of V O ,
although in late 2018 is was quoted above US$60/Kg (Argus Metals).
Earlier this month the US Commerce Department advised it was
opening an investigation into whether imports of vanadium impair US
national security.
https://www.mining.com/web/us-opens-national-security-probe-into-vanadium-imports/
Enquiries:
Mick Billing +61 (8) 7324 Thor Mining PLC Executive Chairman
1935
Ray Ridge +61 (8) 7324 Thor Mining PLC CFO/Company
1935 Secretary
Colin Aaronson/ +44 (0) 207 383 Grant Thornton UK LLP Nominated Adviser
Richard Tonthat/ Niall 5100
McDonald
Nick Emerson +44 (0) 1483 SI Capital Ltd Joint Broker
Claire Louise Noyce 413 500 Hybridan LLP Joint Broker
/ +44 (0) 203 764
John Beresford-Peirse 2341
Updates on the C o m pan y 's activities are regular ly p o sted
on Thor's we bsite w w w.th o r m i n i ng .c o m , which includes
a facility to regi ster to receive these updates by email, and on
the Co m pan y's twitter page @ThorMining.
About Thor Mining PLC
Thor Mining P LC (AI M, A S X: THR) is a r esources comp any
quoted on the AIM M a rket of the London Stock Exchange and on ASX
in Austr alia.
Thor holds 1 0 0% of the ad v anced Molyhil t ungsten p r oject
in t he No rthe rn T e rr ito ry of Aust r alia, for w hich an
updated feasibility study in August 2018(1) suggest ed attr a ctive
retur ns.
Adjacent Molyhil, at Bonya, Thor holds a 40% interest in
deposits of tungsten, copper, and vanadium, including Inferred
Resource estimates for the White Violet and Samarkand tungsten
deposits and the Bonya copper deposit (2).
Thor a lso holds 1 0 0% of t he Pilot Mountain tungst en p
roject in Nevada U SA which has a JORC 20 12 Indicated and Inferred
Res o u rces Estimate (3) on 2 of the 4 k nown deposits. The US
Department of the Interior has confirmed that tungsten, the primary
resource mineral at Pilot Mountain, has been included in the final
list of Critical Minerals 2018.
Thor holds a 25% in ter est Aust r alian copper d evelopment
company EnviroCopper Limited (with rights to increase its interest
to 30%). EnviroCopper Limited holds:
-- r ights to earn up to a 7 5% interest in the mineral rights
and claims over the resource on the p o r tion of the historic
Kapunda copper mi ne in South Aust r alia considered recover able
by way of in situ recove ry; and
-- rights to earn up to 75% of the Moonta copper project, also
in South Australia comprising the northern portion of exploration
licence EL5984 and includes a resource estimate for several
deposits considered recover able by way of in situ recove ry .
Thor also holds a production royalty entitleme nt from t he S p
ring Hill Gold project of :
-- A$5.70 p er ounce of gold p rod uced from the S p ring Hill
te neme nts whe re the gold produced is sold for up to A$ 1,5 00
per ounce; and
-- A$13.30 p er ounce of gold p roduced from the S p ring Hill
tenements where the gold p roduced is sold for amounts over A $1 ,
5 00 per ounce.
N ot e s
(1) Refer ASX and AIM an n o u ncement of 23 August 2 0 18
(2) Refer ASX and AIM an n o u ncements of 26 November 2 0 18 and 29 January 2020
(3) Refer AIM ann o un cement of 13 December 2018 and ASX ann o
unce ment of 14 December 2018
Refer AIM a nn o un c e m e nt of 10 F e b r u ary 2 0 18 a nd
ASX ann o uncement of 12 February 2 0 18
Refer ASX and AIM an n o u ncement of 15 August 2 0 19
Refer AIM a nn o un c e m e nt of 26 F e b r u ary 2 0 16 a nd
ASX ann o uncement of 29 February 2 0 16
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END
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