Last checked at 25 Jun 2019 07:00
25 June 2019
PILOT MOUNTAIN GOLD SAMPLING
The Board of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor") (AIM, ASX: THR) is pleased to advise that samples from historical drilling at the 100% owned Pilot Mountain in Nevada USA are to be re-assayed for gold. This follows gold assays received with metallurgical testwork results from drill samples from the Desert Scheelite deposit.
Highlights
· Up to 1,200 samples from 27 drillholes from drilling progams between 2012 and 2017 to be re-assayed;
· Assaying to be conducted on drill samples from each of Desert Scheelite, Garnet, and Good Hope deposits;
· Gold assays of 0.29g/t in the initial metallurgical process feed, and 0.33g/t in the combined tailings.
Mick Billing, Executive Chairman, commented:
"This is potentially a very exciting phase for our 100% owned Pilot Mountain project."
"In the event that gold appears with any consistency in the Pilot Mountain deposits, we may have a step change of substance for this project".
Further Information
Successful locked cycle metallurgical testwork conducted on 600Kg of drill core from the Desert Scheelite deposit at Pilot Mountain, announced 10 June 2019, revealed for the first time the presence of, potentially economic, 0.29g/t gold in the sample.
The tailings produced from the testwork also contained levels of gold assayed at 0.33 g/t, indicating some potential for gold recovery following flotation of scheelite and other minerals.
The material selected for testing was from 3 diamond drill holes is considered to be representative of the potential processing feed from the first few years of open pit mining at the Desert Scheelite deposit.
Since 2012, a total of 17 holes have been drilled into the Desert Scheelite deposit, along with four holes into the Good Hope Deposit, and six holes into the Garnet Deposit. Samples from each of these holes were assayed for a suite of metals, including tungsten, copper, zinc, and silver. The samples from these testing programs are still available, and will be submitted for assay in Reno, Nevada USA.
It is expected that the assay process will take several weeks.
A map showing the location of each of the known deposits at Pilot Mountain may be viewed via the Company website at:
http://thormining.com/-/thor/lib/images/maps/PIlot%20Mountain%20Deposits.png
Table A: Pilot Mountain Resource Summary 2018 - Announced 13 December 2018
| Resource | WO3 | Ag | Cu | Zn | ||||||
|
| MT | Grade % | Contained metal (t) | Grade g/t | Contained metal (t) | Grade % | Contained metal (t) | Grade % | Contained metal (t) | |
Garnet | Indicated |
| - | - |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Inferred | 1.83 | 0.36 | 6,590 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
| Sub Total | 1.83 | 0.36 | 6,590 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Desert Scheelite | Indicated | 9.01 | 0.26 | 23,400 | 20.73 | 187 | 0.15 | 13,200 | 0.41 | 37,100 | |
Inferred | 1.69 | 0.25 | 4,300 | 12.24 | 21 | 0.16 | 2,800 | 0.19 | 3,200 | ||
| Sub Total | 10.70 | 0.26 | 27,700 | 19.38 | 207 | 0.15 | 16,000 | 0.38 | 40,300 | |
Summary | Indicated | 9.01 | 0.26 | 23,400 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Inferred | 3.53 | 0.31 | 10,890 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Pilot Mountain Total | 12.53 | 0.27 | 34,290 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Note:
· 100% owned by Thor Mining PLC
· All figures are rounded to reflect appropriate levels of confidence. Apparent differences may occur due to rounding
· Cut-off grade 1,500ppm WO₃
· The Company is not aware of any information or data which would materially affect this previously announced resource estimate, and all assumptions and technical parameters relevant to the estimate remain unchanged.
Gold has not been routinely assayed for at Pilot Mountain, either historically or by Thor. Until these follow-up assays on the historical drilling are available, it is uncertain if gold will have a material economic impact on the project.
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 | +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 | SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP | Joint Broker |
Tim Blythe/ Camilla Horsfall | +44 (0) 207 138 3222 | Blytheweigh | Financial PR |
Competent Person's Report
The information in this report that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Richard Bradey, who holds a BSc in applied geology and an MSc in natural resource management and who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Bradey is an employee of Thor Mining PLC. He has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Richard Bradey consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
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.
Adjacent Molyhil, at Bonya, Thor holds a 40% interest in deposits of tungsten, copper, and vanadium, including an Inferred resource for the Bonya copper deposit².
Thor also holds 100% of the Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada USA which has a JORC 2012 Indicated and Inferred Resources Estimate³ 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 resource⁴ 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 project⁵ 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 ASX and AIM announcement of 26 November 2018
³ Refer AIM announcement of 13 December 2018 and ASX announcement of 14 December 2018
⁴ Refer AIM announcement of 10 February 2016 and ASX announcement of 12 February 2018
⁵ Refer AIM announcement of 26 February 2016 and ASX announcement of 29 February 2016