Last checked at 20 Nov 2018 07:00
20 November 2018
THOR MINING PLC
MOLYHIL TUNGSTEN AND MOLYBDENUM PROJECT
APPOINTMENT OF CORPORATE ADVISOR
The Board of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM, ASX: THR), is pleased to advise of the appointment of London based Argent Partners Limited as corporate advisors to assist with completion of off-take and financing arrangements for Molyhil.
The Company has had approaches from, and held discussions with, a number of entities with interests ranging from both molybdenum and tungsten concentrate off-take, to those with potential interest in financing and other partnering initiatives, in respect of the Molyhil project. The directors have elected, in the interests of maximising the benefit for Thor shareholders, to appoint Argent Partners to provide both critical focus, and an outstanding skill set, to secure the best outcome possible.
Mick Billing, Executive Chairman, commented:
"We welcome the appointment of Argent Partners to assist in taking us through the financing stage of the Molyhil development. "
"Molyhil is an outstanding project, with attractive returns and considerable upside both in project scale & mine-life, and it is critical that we secure the best deal possible for our investors in taking it through financing to enable development."
"We have had considerable interest expressed from a number of potential partners in the project, and we look forward to working with Argent Partners to take that interest into a fully financed development plan."
About Molyhil
The Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project, located in the Northern Territory of Australia, is a development ready project with very attractive returns and low operating costs from the seven year life set out in the Open Cut Ore Reserve Statement announced 8th January 2018. In addition, the project holds substantial scale, and mine-life, upside from both underground extension to the Molyhil open pit, and also from nearby at Bonya where multiple tungsten deposits outcrop at surface, along with copper deposits likely to be amenable to processing at Molyhil.
Molyhil Key Features (ref announcement of 23 August 2018)
Project NPV (@5%) post tax & royalties | A$101 million | All Equity Case |
Project IRR post tax & royalties | 59% | All Equity Case |
Project finance requirement | US$43million |
|
Total Project Capex | A$69 million |
|
Break even APT tungsten price | US$230/mtu |
|
Life of Mine C1 Cash Cost | US$90/mtu |
|
Life of Mine EBITDA | A$239 million |
|
Payback from 1st production | < 18 months |
|
Project Life | 7 years |
|
Average feed grade | 0.29% WO₃ | 0.48% WO₃ after ore sorting |
| 0.12% Mo | 0.20% Mo after ore sorting |
Operating throughput Crushing & Sorting Milling/Flotation etc |
531,000 tpa 324,000 tpa |
After ore sorting |
Annual Production Average | 125,000 mtu * | Approximately 1.2% of global market * 1mtu = 10Kg of contained WO₃ |
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 1935 | Thor Mining PLC | Executive Chairman |
Ray Ridge | +61 (8) 7324 1935 | Thor Mining PLC | CFO/Company Secretary |
Colin Aaronson/ Richard Tonthat/ Ben Roberts | +44 (0) 207 383 5100
| Grant Thornton UK LLP
| Nominated Adviser |
Nick Emerson | +44 (0) 1483 413 500 | SI Capital Ltd | Joint Broker |
David Hignell / Rob Rees / Isabella Pierre | +44 (0)20 3861 6625 | Northland Capital Partners Limited | Joint Broker |
Tim Blythe/ Camilla Horsfall | +44 (0) 207 138 3222 | Blytheweigh | Financial PR |
Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on Thor's website www.thormining.com, which includes a facility to register to receive these updates by email, and on the Company's twitter page @ThorMining.
About Thor Mining PLC
Thor Mining PLC (AIM, ASX: THR) is a resources company quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on ASX in Australia.
Thor holds 100% of the advanced Molyhil tungsten project in the Northern Territory of Australia, for which an updated feasibility study in August 2018¹ suggested attractive returns.
Thor also holds 100% of the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada USA which has a JORC 2012 Indicated and Inferred Resources Estimate² on 2 of the 4 known 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 is also acquiring up to a 60% interest Australian copper development company Environmental Copper Recovery SA Pty Ltd, which in turn holds rights to earn up to a 75% interest in the mineral rights and claims over the resource³ on the portion of the historic Kapunda copper mine in South Australia recoverable by way of in situ recovery.
Thor has an interest in Hawkstone Mining Limited, an Australian ASX listed company with a 100% Interest in a Lithium project in Arizona, USA.
Finally, Thor also holds a production royalty entitlement from the Spring Hill Gold project⁴ of:
• A$6 per ounce of gold produced from the Spring Hill tenements where the gold produced is sold for up to A$1,500 per ounce; and
• A$14 per ounce of gold produced from the Spring Hill tenements where the gold produced is sold for amounts over A$1,500 per ounce.
Notes
· ¹ Refer ASX and AIM announcement of 23 August 2018
· ² Refer AIM announcement of 22 May 2017 and ASX announcement of 23 May 2017
· ³ Refer AIM announcement of 10 February 2016 and ASX announcement of 12 February 2018
· ⁴ Refer AIM announcement of 26 February 2016 and ASX announcement of 29 February 2017