REG - Thor Energy PLC - Fleet Space Technologies Collaboration

Thor EnergyAnnouncement

04/09/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1998L  Thor Energy PLC  04 September 2023

4 September 2023

Thor Energy Plc

 

("Thor" or the "Company")

 

Fleet Space Technologies Collaboration

Alford East Copper-REE Project, South Australia

 

The directors of Thor Energy Plc ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM, ASX: THR,
OTCQB: THORF) are pleased to announce a collaboration with Fleet Space
Technologies ("Fleet") to undertake Ambient Noise Tomography ("ANT") surveys
to advance Thor's understanding of the Alford East Copper-REE Project, South
Australia.

Highlights:

§ Thor and Fleet Space Technologies to collaborate on the Alford East Project
to accelerate mineral exploration, incorporating Fleet's EXOSPHERE BY FLEET®
technology.

§ EXOSPHERE BY FLEET® scans the ground using the advanced ANT seismic
tomography technique, where highly transportable 'Geode' devices listen to
faint background vibrations from natural and man-made sources.  The Data is
then processed rapidly and transmitted through Fleets constellation of low
earth orbit satellites, recently launched by SpaceX. This technology will be
used in surveys over the Alford East Project to successfully delineate the low
velocity, weathered 'troughs' that host the oxide copper-REE mineralisation
with the Alford Copper Belt (Figure 1-3).

§ Fleet will integrate ANT results with Thor's 3D geological model by using Artificial Intelligence ("AI") and Machine Learning ("ML") to generate a new model for drill targeting higher-grade oxide copper-gold mineralisation.

§ The results from the surveys will play a pivotal role in shaping decisions
and refining the targeting strategy for upcoming drilling campaigns.  These
future drilling efforts will be concentrated on regions characterised by low
seismic velocity, known for hosting oxidised copper-gold mineralisation
conducive to the possibility of In-Situ Recovery ("ISR").

§ An investment fund associated with Fleet Space will make a direct equity
investment of $250,000 in Thor via a share subscription at $0.04 per Share.
The Shares are expected to be issued by 8 September 2023. The Shares will be
subject to voluntary escrow for 12 months. Refer Appendix 3B lodged 1
September 2023.

 

Figure 1: ANT 3D model showing the deeply weathered "trough" structure, host
to oxide copper-gold mineralisation in the Alford Copper Belt at Alford West
(ASX/AIM: 17 April 2023).

 

Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director of Thor Energy, commented:

"Thor is delighted to have formed a collaborative partnership with Fleet Space
Technologies to accelerate mineral exploration at our Alford East Copper-REE
Project.

"EXOSPHERE BY FLEET ® is a low environmental impact method of exploring
undercover and at depth, which through our 30% equity in EnviroCopper ("ECL")
have successfully completed a similar project at Alford West Project, located
to the south.

"Fleet Space will integrate the data from the ANT surveys with Thor's 3D
geological model.

"As a junior explorer, securing Fleet Space's support bridges the divide
between space technology and mineral exploration, and stands as a resounding
endorsement of confidence in Thor's Alford East Copper-REE Project. This
collaboration will empower us to accelerate our exploration efforts
significantly.

"The collaboration with Fleet Space Technologies is underpinned by an equity
investment in Thor of $250,000 by an investment fund associated with Fleet
Space Technologies. This funding will be focussed on drill testing the
identified targets."

 

Federico Tata-Nardini, Chief Financial Officer, Financial Strategy &
Investment Officer of Fleet SpaceTechnologies, commented:

"In a groundbreaking collaboration, Thor and Fleet Space are set to redefine
mineral exploration through the innovative integration of space technology.

"This partnership marks the convergence of advanced technologies. Fleet's
cutting-edge space technology will merge seamlessly with Thor's expertise in
mineral exploration. The Alford East Project will act as the catalyst for this
transformative journey, ushering in a fresh era defined by heightened
efficiency and unparalleled precision. This will unlock a realm of
opportunities for highly targeted drilling campaigns and expedited exploration
endeavours.

 "As a testament to the symbiotic nature of this collaboration, an investment
fund associated with Fleet Space is also making a direct equity investment in
Thor through a strategic share subscription. This not only underscores the
faith in the partnership's potential but also solidifies the commitment to
jointly accelerate mineral exploration."

 

Figure 2: Alford East Location Map showing the lateral extent of the Alford
Copper Belt (left), and the Alford East Mineral Resource Domains showing the
area for initial ANT Surveys (right)

Collaboration

Thor and Fleet have formed a collaborative partnership to accelerate mineral
exploration at Alford East Project, as Thor aims to increase the mineral
resource and progress the assessment of the In Situ Recovery process.  Fleet
will acquire equity interest in Thor via a share subscription agreement.

As part of the collaboration, ANT surveys using EXOSPHERE BY FLEET ® are to
be completed initially over the northern portion of the Alford East project
(Figure 2). This technology is a particularly low-impact form of exploration
and uses natural environmental vibrations in the ground, caused by ocean
waves, weather or traffic, to analyse the earth's composition down to
approximately 2000m depth.

This technology uses compact, battery-powered smart sensors called Geodes to
collect raw data (Figure 3).  It can pre-process and deliver data directly
via Fleet's satellite connectivity. This technology means faster collection of
data, fewer drill holes, hence a much lower environmental impact.

The Fleet team will integrate the subsurface ANT results with Thor's existing 3D geological model, which was generated from all available geophysics data sets, surface geochemistry and all available drillhole data. Modelling of the combined information using Artificial Intelligence ("AI") and Machine Learning ("ML") will result in a revised 3D model delineating structural and potential lithological controls on the mineralisation within the Alford Copper belt and identifying drill targets with potential for higher-grade oxide copper-gold mineralisation.

Share Subscription

Thor will issue 6,250,000 ordinary shares in Thor ("Ordinary Shares") at
A$0.04 (for a total value of A$250,000) to Fleet. This is deemed the value of
the ANT surveys only, with Fleet through the collaborative partnership,
processing and modelling all available geological data, to generate a new 3D
geological and mineralisation model, and assist Thor with drill targeting and
the acceleration of exploration activities at Alford East Project.

Application will be made for admission of the 6,250,000 new Ordinary Shares to
trading on AIM ("Admission"), with Admission expected to occur on around 8
September 2023.

Following Admission, the Company will have 245,541,284 Ordinary Shares in
issue. Shareholders in the Company may use this figure as the denominator for
the calculation, by which they would determine if they are required to notify
their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the
Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules.

The new Ordinary Shares will be subject to a lock-in agreement and can't be
sold by Fleet for a period of 12 months.

 

Next Steps

1.    Commence ANT Surveys with the deployment of Exosphere geodes (Figure
3) (Scheduled for mid-September)

2.    Modelling of ANT results incorporating Thor's 3D model and using AI
to extrapolate controlling structures along the Alford Copper Belt (October)

3.    Target generation from the final 3D Model (November)

4.    Drill preparations and Drilling (February)

 

Figure 3: Exosphere used by Fleet Space(®) for ANT surveying.

 

Alford East Project Background
The Alford East Copper-Ree Project is located on EL6529, where Thor is earning up to 80% interest from unlisted Australian explorer Spencer Metals Pty Ltd, covering portions of EL6255 and EL6529 (Figure 2) (ASX/AIM: 20 November 2020).
The Alford East Project covers the northern extension of the Alford Copper Belt, located on the Yorke Peninsula, SA.  The Alford Copper Belt is a semi-coherent zone of copper-gold oxide mineralisation, within a structurally controlled, north-south corridor consisting of deeply kaolinised and oxidised troughs within metamorphic units on the edge of the Tickera Granite (Figure 2), Gawler Craton, SA.

Thor completed an inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) by utilising
historic drill hole information.

Table C - (ASX/AIM: 27 January 2021):

 

▪              125.6Mt @ 0.14% Cu containing 177,000t of
contained copper

▪              71, 500oz of contained gold

 

https://thorenergyplc.com/investor-updates/maiden-copper-gold-mineral-resource-estimate-alford-east-copper-gold-isr-project/
(https://thorenergyplc.com/investor-updates/maiden-copper-gold-mineral-resource-estimate-alford-east-copper-gold-isr-project/)

Table C: Alford East Mineral Resource Estimate as of 22 January 2021- Figure 2
((ASX/AIM: 27 January 2021).

 Domain       Tonnes (Mt)  Cu %  Au g/t  Contained Cu (t)  Contained Au (oz)
 AE_1         24.6         0.12  0.021   30,000            16,000
 AE_2         6.8          0.13  0.004   9,000             1,000
 AE_3         34.9         0.09  0.022   33,000            25,000
 AE_4         8.0          0.11  0.016   8,000             4,000
 AE_5         11.0         0.22  0.030   24,000            11,000
 AE-8 (NP)    31.3         0.19  0.008   61,000            8,000
 AE-7 (LW_E)  7.7          0.14  0.025   10,000            6,000
 AE-6 (LW_W)  1.3          0.13  0.011   2,000             500
 Total        125.6        0.14  0.018   177,000           71,500

 

Note: MRE reported on oxide material only, at a cut-off grade of 0.05% copper
which is consistent with the assumed In-Situ Recovery technique.

REE results were reported from the 2021 diamond drilling program, with
significant drill intercepts (>500ppm TREO(( 1 ))) including (THR: ASX/AIM
26 April 2023):

 

o 21AED005:                 36.7m @ 1568ppm (0.16%) TREO &
1.2% Cu from 6.3m,

including        11.8m @ 2095 ppm (0.21%) TREO and 1.2% Cu from 10m, and

11m @ 2088ppm (0.21%) TREO and 0.8% Cu from 47m,

Including       2m @ 5042ppm (0.5%) TREO from 47m

 

o 21AED002:                 11.6m @ 1699ppm (0.17% ) TREO and
0.26% Cu  from 30.4m

        including         6.1m @ 2262ppm (0.22%) TREO from 34.0m

 

o 21AED001:    16.8m @ 1721ppm (0.17%) TREO and 0.5% Cu from 91.4m

 

The Board of Thor Energy Plc has approved this announcement and authorised its
release.

 

For further information, please contact:

 Thor Energy PLC
 Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director               Tel: +61 (8) 7324 1935

 Ray Ridge, CFO / Company Secretary                       Tel: +61 (8) 7324 1935
 WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)  Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
 Antonio Bossi / Darshan Patel
 SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                        Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413 500
 Nick Emerson
 Yellow Jersey (Financial PR)                             thor@yellowjerseypr.com
 Sarah Hollins / Shivantha Thambirajah / Bessie Elliot    Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512

 

The information in this report that relates to exploration results is based on
information compiled by Nicole Galloway Warland, who holds a BSc Applied
geology (HONS) and who is a Member of The Australian Institute of
Geoscientists. Ms Galloway Warland is an employee of Thor Energy PLC. She has
sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which she 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'. Nicole Galloway Warland consents to the inclusion in the
report of the matters based on her information in the form and context in
which it appears.

 

Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on Thor's website
https://thorenergyplc.com (https://thorenergyplc.com) which includes a
facility to register to receive these updates by email, and on the Company's
twitter page @thorenergyplc

 

About Thor Energy Plc

The Company is focused on uranium and energy metals that are crucial in the
shift to a 'green' energy economy. Thor has a number of highly prospective
projects that give shareholders exposure to uranium, nickel, copper, lithium
and gold. Our projects are located in Australia and the USA.

Thor holds 100% interest in three uranium and vanadium projects (Wedding Bell,
Radium Mountain and Vanadium King) in the Uravan Belt Colorado and Utah, USA
with historical high-grade uranium and vanadium drilling and production
results.

Thor owns 100% of the Ragged Range Project, comprising 92 km(2) of exploration
licences with highly encouraging early-stage gold and nickel results in the
Pilbara region of Western Australia.

At Alford East in South Australia, Thor is earning an 80% interest in oxide
copper deposits considered amenable to extraction via In Situ Recovery
techniques (ISR). In January 2021, Thor announced an Inferred Mineral Resource
Estimate¹. Thor also holds a 30% interest in Australian copper development
company EnviroCopper Limited, which in turn holds rights to earn up to a 75%
interest in the mineral rights and claims over the resource on the portion of
the historic Kapunda copper mine and the Alford West copper project, both
situated in South Australia, and both considered amenable to recovery by way
of ISR.²³

Thor holds 100% of the advanced Molyhil tungsten project, including measured,
indicated and inferred resources⁴, in the Northern Territory of Australia,
which was awarded Major Project Status by the Northern Territory government in
July 2020. Thor executed a A$8m Farm-in and Funding Agreement with
Investigator Resources Limited (ASX: IVR) to accelerate exploration at the
Molyhil Project on 24 November 2022.(6)

Adjacent to Molyhil, at Bonya, Thor holds a 40% interest in deposits of
tungsten, copper, and vanadium, including Inferred resource estimates for the
Bonya copper deposit, and the White Violet and Samarkand tungsten deposits.
⁵ Thor's interest in the Bonya tenement EL29701 is planned to be divested as
part of the Farm-in and Funding agreement with Investigator Resources
Limited.(6)

 

Notes

(1)
https://thorenergyplc.com/investor-updates/maiden-copper-gold-mineral-resource-estimate-alford-east-copper-gold-isr-project/

(2)
www.thorenergyplc.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20172018/20180222-clarification-kapunda-copper-resource-estimate.pdf
(http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20172018/20180222-clarification-kapunda-copper-resource-estimate.pdf)

³
www.thorenergyplc.com/sites/thormining/media/aim-report/20190815-initial-copper-resource-estimate---moonta-project---rns---london-stock-exchange.pdf
(http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/aim-report/20190815-initial-copper-resource-estimate---moonta-project---rns---london-stock-exchange.pdf)

(4)
https://thorenergyplc.com/investor-updates/molyhil-project-mineral-resource-estimate-updated/

(5)
www.thorenergyplc.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20200129-mineral-resource-estimates---bonya-tungsten--copper.pdf
(http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20200129-mineral-resource-estimates---bonya-tungsten--copper.pdf)

(6)
https://thorenergyplc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221124-8M-Farm-in-Funding-Agreement.pdf

 

About Fleet Space Technologies

Fleet Space Technologies, a leading Australian space company with a mission to
connect Earth, Moon, and Mars, is revolutionising the mineral exploration,
defence, and space exploration sectors through its groundbreaking products and
connectivity solutions. Headquartered at a state-of-the-art facility in
Adelaide, South Australia, Fleet has rapidly grown to over 100 employees and
boasts a global presence, including a team in the US and offices in Canada,
Luxembourg, and Chile.

Fleet created EXOSPHERE BY FLEET(®), a solution for the mineral exploration
industry providing lightning fast, 3D mapping of underground structures and
providing increased accuracy in drilling targets. This cutting-edge technology
is helping the world transition to clean-air mobility technologies by creating
a faster, more sustainable and less expensive route to finding critical
mineral deposits. EXOSPHERE BY FLEET(®) is an end-to-end service offered to
mineral exploration customers to decrease the time it takes to find a deposit.
Fleet's sensors, the Geodes, are deployed in a survey area and leverage
real-time passive seismic methods to 'scan' the subsurface. This is enabled
through non-invasive Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT) which listens to seismic
waves present on Earth. The data is rapidly processed and transmitted through
Fleet's low power satellite network to create a 3D model of the area in near
real time.

Since launching EXOSPHERE, Fleet Space has signed contracts with over 30
clients around the world including players such as Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and
Core Lithium. Fleet has conducted more than 150 ANT surveys on different
commodity types and completed deployments in 5 continents. EXOSPHERE BY
FLEET(®) is contributing to solve the pressing global priority to decarbonise
mobility and find more than $13trillion USD worth of minerals required for the
energy transition to help meet global net zero priorities.

 

Contact:

Media Relations

Fleet Space Technologies

media@fleet.space

+61 411 591 665

 1  TREO = (Total Rare Earth Oxides) = (La(2)O(3) + CeO(2) + Pr(6)O(11) +
Nd(2)O(3) +Sm(2)O(3) + Eu(2)O(3) + Gd(2)O(3) + Tb(4)O(7) + Dy(2)O(3) +
Ho(2)O(3) + Er(2)O(3) + Tm(2)O(3) + Yb(2)O(3) + Lu(2)O(3) + Y(2)O(3))

 

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