TIDMTHR
RNS Number : 0799Q
Thor Mining PLC
16 June 2020
16 June 2020
THOR MINING PLC
VISIBLE MINERALISATION FROM US URANIUM/VANADIUM FIELD DUE
DILIGENCE SAMPLING
The directors of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM,
ASX: THR) are pleased to advise practical completion of the field
component of due diligence 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.
The non-field component of investigations is nearing completion
with finalisation pending assay laboratory results.
Investigation Highlights:
-- Field sampling is completed from historical mines around the
Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain.
-- A total of 21 samples collected include four outcrop samples
and 16 samples from historic mining dumps, all of which appear to
host uranium and, five outcrop samples which appear to host
vanadium.
-- Samples have been delivered to the assay laboratory, with
results expected to be available later this month.
-- Inspection of each of the three project sites have revealed
no competing interests or issues likely to prevent future mine
development.
-- Investigations have revealed that there are no regulatory or
environmental issues which would cast doubt on the transaction.
-- The mineral claims are all in good standing.
-- Project data search has revealed abundant geological and mine
production data from multiple sources.
Mick Billing, Executive Chairman of Thor Mining, commented:
Our Colorado based team have moved quickly and completed a
sampling program from the historical mines around Wedding Bell and
Radium Mountain mines, along with other field due diligence
activities. Additional historical records of mining and drilling
activity in each project area are being acquired, and these will be
evaluated as a priority."
"We are very pleased with, what appears to be high grade
samples, and look forward to the assay results, along with the
results of the balance of this due diligence 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).
A processing plant which has historically taken ore from the
region on a toll treatment basis is located near Blanding, within
relatively close proximity to the claims held by these companies.
Thor have had no contact with the operators of this plant to date,
however this may represent a potential low cost entry into
production.
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 completed the field phase of the assessment
of these claims, sampling outcropping mineralisation and dumps from
historical mining activities. Access to historical underground
workings has been delayed, pending approval to remove entry
barriers erected by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Samples collected contain a mineral identified by the team as
carnotite, which hosts both uranium and vanadium. Also collected
were samples from outcropping deposits, appearing to contain
abundant yellow carnotite mineralisation, containing vanadium, in
potentially open pittable terrain. All samples have been delivered
to the ALS laboratory in Reno, Nevada, with assay results expected
in late June.
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
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.
The review team visited the site to assess access issues
associated with potential drilling campaigns. The area has good
local infrastructure and is at the northern margin of the historic
uranium mining area of Thompson Yellow Cat mining district.
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.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
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 Nominated Adviser
Richard Tonthat/ Niall 5100 LLP
McDonald
Nick Emerson +44 (0) 1483 SI Capital Ltd Joint Broker
Claire Louise Noyce 413 500 Hybridan LLP Joint Broker
/ +44 (0) 203
John Beresford-Peirse 764 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
STRSFUSIMESSEIM
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