Thor Mining rises on improved gold grades at Spring Hill

Thor Mining, which is duel-listed on AIM and the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX), has cheered its investors with confirmation of improved grades and extensions of known gold mineralisation at the Spring Hill Gold Project, located south of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.The grades are from the Hong Kong zone, where three holes were drilling to test possible extensions to the zone, as part of Thor's broader 2012 drilling programme across multiple targets at Spring Hill.The grades include 46.7 metres at 2.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au), including 9.4m at 2.9 g/t Au and 30.2 m at 2.7 g/t Au from 145.3m. Mick Billing, Executive Chairman of Thor Mining, said: "We are delighted to be able to report additional results showing higher average grades and extensions to the known mineralisation at Spring Hill. While we still have some work to finalise the evaluation, these are very encouraging signs."The company will now begin follow-up work, which includes finalising check analyses on low grade assays, updating resource estimates within the next three months, and conducting open cut mine optimisation. The firm will also plan and execute follow-up resource extension drilling and implement a lease wide exploration programme. The share price rose 11.9% to 1.18p by 08:37.NR Thor Energy