REG - Thor Mining PLC - Commencement of Kapunda Copper Recovery Trials

Thor EnergyAnnouncement

09/12/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 0515V  Thor Mining PLC  09 December 2021

9 December 2021

 

 

Thor Mining PLC

Commencement of Copper Recovery Trials
Kapunda Copper ISR Project, South Australia
 
The directors of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor") (AIM, ASX: THR, OTCQB: THORF) are pleased to advise that a tracer test and in-situ lixiviant trials have commenced at the Kapunda Copper ISR Project in South Australia.
 
EnviroCopper Ltd ("EnviroCopper" or "ECL"), in which Thor holds a 30% equity interest, has completed the installation of test well arrays and has commenced in-situ recovery trials ("ISR"), including  tracer and push pull test work. These tests are the final hydrometallurgical assessments before ECL commences Site Environmental Lixiviant Trials (SELT).
 
The purpose of lixiviant trials, or 'push pull tests', is to assess the solubility of copper mineralisation, and therefore copper recovery, using a specially designed solution called a lixiviant under in-situ conditions. The trial is to be undertaken in two stages. The first stage involves injecting and extracting a tracer solution (Sodium Bromide - NaBr) from the same well to demonstrate hydraulic connectivity between wells and the environmental monitor well network. This is followed by injecting and extracting lixiviant from the same well to test copper solubility from the mineralisation.
 

The trials are anticipated to take three to four weeks.

 

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

"These in-situ lixiviant trials are a critical step in the assessment of the
ISR process in determining the copper solubility hence recovery from the
Kapunda copper mineralisation.

 

This is a significant milestone for the Kapunda ISR Project, which Thor is
delighted to be a part of.

 

I would also like to congratulate and acknowledge the efforts of the ECL team
on winning this year's award for Innovation and Collaboration in the Resources
Sector by the Department of Energy and Mining, South Australia for the Kapunda
Copper ISR Project."

 

https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/premiers_awards_in_energy_and_mining
(https://www.energymining.sa.gov.au/premiers_awards_in_energy_and_mining)

 

 

About Kapunda and EnviroCopper

The Kapunda ISR Copper Project is located approximately 90 kilometres north
north-east of Adelaide in South Australia (Figure 1).

Thor holds a 30% interest in EnviroCopper, which in turn holds rights to earn
up to a 75% interest in the mineral rights over metals which may be recovered
via ISR contained in the Kapunda deposit from Australian listed company,
Terramin Australia Limited ("Terramin" ASX:TZN) (AIM:THR Announcement 11
November 2020).

For detail of the ISR process, investors are invited to view the EnviroCopper
website:

https://www.envirocopper.com.au/ (https://www.envirocopper.com.au/)

 

Figure 1: The Tenement & Prospect Location Plan may be viewed by the
following link:

 

https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/17-007-1b-kapunda-alford-location.jpg
(https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/17-007-1b-kapunda-alford-location.jpg)

 

 

Lixiviant Trials - Push Pull Test

 

The purpose of lixiviant trials is to test the solubility of copper
mineralisation using a lixiviant under in-situ conditions. The trial involves
injecting and extracting tracer and/or lixiviant from the same well. Details
of tasks/stages are as follows:

 

1.      The installation of test well array and well house, which is now
completed (Figure 2 and 3):

o   One push-pull well screened across mineralisation

o   Two observation wells - oriented along main line of lithology/structure

o   Compliance monitoring wells located down gradient - nominally 25 to 50m
from push pull well, screened across the same interval as injection and
extraction wells

2.      Well connectivity 'tracer' test using sodium bromide (NaBr). The
tracer test is designed to demonstrate hydraulically the connectivity between
the tracer test well and the observation and monitoring wells. The tracer test
has commenced, with monitoring every 2 hours and is anticipated to be
completed within 24-48 hours.

3.      A lixiviant injection and extraction 'push pull' test including
the installation of a well house (Figure 3). This is designed to test the
solubility of copper in lixiviant under in-situ conditions.

o   Drain lixiviant to injection well under gravity. Maintain water level in
well at least 2m below ground surface

o   Allow lixiviant to react with rock. 12 hourly samples for pH and copper.

o   Reaction is complete when parameters are stable. Estimated to take up to
14 days.

4.      Well rehabilitation. Restore Groundwater to baseline conditions

o   Extract lixiviant from well until water quality returns to baseline
conditions. Water is disposed of offsite at an approved EPA facility.

 

Key outcomes anticipated from lixiviant trials:

1.     Hydraulic connectivity between wells

2.     Copper solubility and recovery

3.     Establish lixiviant and time parameters for design of the Site
Environmental Lixiviant Trials (SELT).

 

The trials are anticipated to take three to four weeks to complete.

 

Figure 2: Lixiviant Push Pull Layout may be viewed by the following link:

https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/push-pull-layout.png
(https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/push-pull-layout.png)

Figure 3: Photos of well house may be viewed by the following link:

https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/wellhouse.jpg
(https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/wellhouse.jpg)

 

Next Step

Based on the results of the lixiviant trials, the Site Environmental Lixiviant
Trials will be designed and permitted.

A scoping study is currently underway for the Kapunda ISR project including
the optimal copper processing options and saleable copper product.

 

 

This announcement is authorised for release to the market by the Board of
Directors.

 

- Ends -

 

For further information on the Company, please visit www.thormining.com
(http://www.thormining.com)  or contact the following:

 Thor Mining 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
 Jessica Cave / Darshan Patel / Megan Liddell

 Jasper Berry (Corporate Broking)

 SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker)                        Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413 500
 Nick Emerson

 Yellow Jersey (Financial PR)                             thor@yellowjerseypr.com
 Sarah Hollins / Henry Wilkinson                          Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512

 

 

 

Competent Persons Report

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results and the
Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resource Estimation 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
Mining 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.

 

Forward Looking Statements

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Thor Mining
PLC current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry in
which Thor operates, and beliefs and assumptions regarding Thor's future
performance. When used in this document, words such as "anticipate", "could",
"plan", "estimate", "expects", "seeks", "intends", "may", "potential",
"should", and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although
Thor believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking
statements are reasonable, such statements are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the control
of Thor and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements

 

Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on Thor's website
www.thormining.com (http://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; OTCQB: THORF) is a diversified resource
company quoted on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, ASX in
Australia and OTCQB Market in the United States.

 

The Company is advancing its diversified portfolio of precious, base, energy
and strategic metal projects across USA and Australia. Its focus is on
progressing its copper, gold, uranium and vanadium projects, while seeking
investment/JV opportunities to develop its tungsten assets.

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, for which drilling is currently underway.

At Alford East in South Australia, Thor is earning an 80% interest in
copper-gold deposits considered amenable to extraction via In Situ Recovery
techniques (ISR). In January 2021, Thor has announced an Inferred Mineral
Resource Estimate of 177,000 tonnes contained copper & 71,000 oz
gold¹.

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% interest in two private companies with mineral claims in the
US states of Colorado and Utah with historical high-grade uranium and vanadium
drilling and production results.

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. Diamond drilling is currently underway to test potential extension
to mineralisation.

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

Notes

(1) www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20210127-maiden-copper.gold-estimate-alford-east-sa.pdf
(http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20210127-maiden-copper.gold-estimate-alford-east-sa.pdf)
 

(2) www.thormining.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.thormining.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)
www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20210408-molyhil-mineral-resource-estimate-updated.pdf
(http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20210408-molyhil-mineral-resource-estimate-updated.pdf)
 

(5
)www.thormining.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)
 

 

 

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