Proactive Investors31 Jan 2018 12:07
Thor Mining looks well set to start �turning resources into money�
09:40 31 Jan 2018
Thor Mining has a strong pipeline of projects across an attractive range of commodities.
Thor Mining PLC (LON:THR) is in the enviable position for a junior miner of having removed virtually all exploration risk. And not just across one project, but across three, all with commodities that are currently enjoying a strong pricing run.
�We have three projects, each of which is likely to mined at some stage in the not too distant future,� explains chief executive Mick Billing.
�Of the three deposits we have resource estimates on two.�
The most advanced is the Molyhil tungsten project in Australia�s Northern Territory, which should get financed in the middle of this year, and thereafter move on into construction.
But coming along behind is the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada, which already boasts a combined resource across two deposits of nearly 12 mln tonnes of mineralised material.
And that resource is likely to be followed by a maiden estimate on the Kapunda copper project in Australia, for which Billing also has high hopes.
In support are an Australian lithium project, and a royalty on an old Thor project called Spring Hill, now being developed by private Australian vehicle PC Gold.
Like all good mining executives Billing is keeping his options open as regards to the future of his leading projects.
�A lot of the risk associated with grass roots projects is now gone,� he says.
�We�re now in the process of turning resources into money. We can do that in one of several ways. We can package our assets up for sale and sell them for quite a few multiples of what we�ve spent to get them to where they are now. Or we can take a development approach to each of Molyhil, Pilot Mountain and Kapunda. The two are not mutually exclusive.�
All that being said, it seems clear that the big news during the first part of the year is likely to relate to Molyhil.
�In the case of Molyhil, all the exploration has been done,� says Billing. �All the metallurgical work has been done. The work we are doing at the moment is an upgrade to the feasibility study. It�s quite intense, but of relatively short duration. And it doesn�t require enormous amounts of money, which is a good thing.�