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(Alliance News) - Thor Explorations Ltd on Wednesday said gold production at the Segilola gold mine in Nigeria ticked down in the second quarter, while it acquired a tenure in Nigeria which covers known lithium deposits.
Shares in the Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso-focused mineral exploration company were up 9.8% to 19.76 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
Vancouver, Canada-based Thor said Segilola gold production in the second quarter had an average grade of 2.99 grammes per tonne, with total production of 23,078 ounces. This ticked down from 23,785 ounces a year earlier.
In exploration, Thor said it focused on activities with a 25 kilometre radius from Segilola operations.
It noted a continuation of diamond and reverse circulation drilling on identified high-grade quartz-vein style mineralisation at Igala and Ayelle prospects within 15 kilometres of Segilola with several significant intersections obtained.
Thor also initially identified a new mineralised trend located 23 kilometres south of Segilola with an RC drilling campaign underway to assess both primary and saprolite gold mineralisation.
In lithium exploration, Thor said it acquired over 500 square kilometres of tenure in southwest Nigeria covering both known lithium bearing pegmatite deposits and a large unexplored prospective pegmatite-rich belt.
It previously announced sampling results of part of a key pegmatite deposit that falls within Thor's tenure, which demonstrated between 1.3% and 9.3% lithium oxide.
An initial drill programme of 5,000 metres utilising three RC drilling rigs is ongoing at location 6, its primary target, Thor said, adding that to date, the main pegmatite has been intersected in five holes averaging 20 metres true thickness over 150 metres of strike.
Thor said samples have been dispatched for analysis on the initial drill programme, while a metallurgical sampling program is due to commence in the third quarter of 2023.
Regarding its Douta gold project, Thor said pre-feasibility study workstreams are ongoing, alongside an environmental and social impact assessment, while a dry season biodiversity survey has been completed.
Metallurgical and geotechnical drilling programs have also been completed, Thor said, with metallurgical samples being delivered to the laboratory.
It added resource drilling continues to target upgrades to "the higher-grade parts" of the existing resource to indicated classification. This was alongside step-out drilling at Sambara, Thor said, which began in the second quarter.
Thor said that mineralisation remains open along strike between the known prospects. It noted further growth potential along 20 kilometres of under-explored prospective strike length, as covered by the Douta exploration permit.
Looking ahead, Thor said it maintained its 2023 production guidance range of between 85,000 and 95,000 ounces of gold. Across 2022, it produced 98,006 ounces of gold.
"The planned step-up in mining operations has been achieved and we are well positioned to meet our targets for the first half of 2023. We are also encouraged by ongoing exploration in Nigeria, where drilling has been continuing on two priority targets. We look forward to updating the market with drill results from Nigeria and Senegal in the coming weeks," said Chief Executive Officer Segun Lawson.
"The standout highlight of the quarter has been the acquisition of a potentially significant and prospective lithium exploration portfolio and the commencement of an initial drilling program where visual inspection of the RC drill chips has been very encouraging."
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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