REG - Thor Mining PLC - Drilling Commences at Wedding Bell Project

Thor EnergyAnnouncement

26/09/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5413A  Thor Mining PLC  26 September 2022

26 September 2022

 

Thor Mining PLC

 

("Thor" or the "Company")

 

US Uranium and Vanadium
Drilling Commences at Wedding Bell Project

The directors of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor") (AIM, ASX: THR, OTCQB: THORF) are
delighted to announce that drilling has commenced at the Company's 100%-owned
Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain Projects, located in the historic
uranium-vanadium mining district within the Uravan Mineral Belt, southwest
Colorado, USA (Figure 1).

Project highlights:

§ Maiden 2000m drilling program has commenced at the priority Rim Rock,
Groundhog and Section 23 prospects within the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain
Projects (Figure 2).

§ Drilling will target the prospective 'Salt Wash' horizon of
sandstone-hosted uranium and vanadium mineralisation at shallow depths (~ 80m)
for total drilling up to 2000m.

§ Drilling at Rim Rock and Groundhog Prospects is designed to test extensions
to high-grade uranium and vanadium mineralisation sampled within and around
historic workings of up to 1.25% Uranium (U(3)O(8)) and 3.47% Vanadium
(V(2)O(5)) (THOR ASX, AIM: 21 July 2020).

§ A fenceline of drillholes at Section 23 Prospect will be the first holes
drilled into this highly prospective area.

§ The Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain Prospects are easy to access and close
to excellent infrastructure.

 

Section 23 - Wedding Bell Project

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf)

 

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

"Commencement of drilling at the Wedding Bell Project is a significant
milestone for Thor.  We look forward to testing these shallow, high-grade
targets, especially Section 23, where Thor will be the first company to access
and drill test this highly prospective area.

"Short to long-term fundaments for nuclear energy are the best in over 50
years, with demand increasing due to electrification, climate change carbon
emission initiatives, responses to the global energy crisis exacerbated in
Europe by the Russian invasion, and advancements in small modular reactors
(SMR).

"As uranium prices rise and the US looks to secure domestic uranium supply,
Thor is in an excellent position to advance this promising US asset."

 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf (http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf)

 Figure 1: US Uranium and Vanadium Project location map showing Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain in Colorado and Vanadium King in Utah, USA.

 

Full details on Thor's US uranium and vanadium projects may be found on Thor's
website https://www.thormining.com/projects/us-uranium-and-vanadium
(https://www.thormining.com/projects/us-uranium-and-vanadium) .

 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf (http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf)

Figure 2: Map of Colorado Wedding Bell & Radium Mountain Projects showing priority drill areas - Section 23, Groundhog and Rim Rock.

 

DRILLING PROGRAM

The initial drill program at the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain Project
comprises 15 drillholes for a total of 2000m, drilled to an average depth of
80m (down to ~150m), to fully test the highly prospective Salt Wash Sandstone
horizon at three priority targets.

High-grade assay results from due diligence work completed by Thor returned up
to 1.25% U(3)O(8) and 3.47% V(2)O(5), confirming uranium and vanadium
mineralisation within the Brushy Basin Shales and the Salt Wash Sandstone of
the Morrison Formation (Figure 2 and 3). This is consistent with and typical
of the historical production in the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain area of
the Uravan Mineral Belt (Figure 3).

Following this work, three priority areas within the Wedding Bell and Radium
Mountain claims were highlighted for drill testing - Section 23, Rim Rock and
Ground Hog (Figure 2).

Section 23 (Figure 2) in the southeast corner of the Wedding Bell claims has
been identified by Thor Mining and World Industrial Minerals LLC (US
Consulting team) as the highest priority drill target in the Colorado
Uranium-Vanadium Project. This area represents the only large area in the
claim block with the "Salt Wash" Member precluded from historic prospecting,
drilling and mine production.  Proposed drillholes for this area are designed
to target potential mineralisation in the third sandstone unit, estimated to
be within 30-40m from surface stratigraphically, beneath the mapped contact
with the overlying upper Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation.

The Rim Rock Mine area (Figure 2) represents a second priority drill target.
The proposed drill holes are designed to straddle the east-southeast
projection of the sampled Rim Rock Mine, the adit opening of which is located
immediately to the west. The Rim Rock Mine was the largest uranium-vanadium
producer in the project area. When the adit area was sampled by Thor, a
laterally continuous layer of vanadium mineralisation with assays was sampled:

§ 0.89% U(3)O(8) and 1.68%V(2)O(5) - WR-004

§ 0.14 % U(3)0(8) and 1.9% V(2)0(5) - WR-017

§ 0.05% U(3)O(8) and 2.14% V(2)O(5) - WR0018

 

https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20200721-high-grade-uranium-assays.colorado-field-sampling.pdf
(https://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/pdf/asx-announcements/20200721-high-grade-uranium-assays.colorado-field-sampling.pdf)

 

It is anticipated that this same layer or a stratigraphically equivalent layer
of mineralisation will be intercepted by the proposed drill holes. Vanadium
layers, such as this one, which is relatively low in uranium content (by the
standards of historical uranium mining in the Uravan District), were usually
ignored by the miners.

The Groundhog Mine area (Figure 2) consists of the upper and lower historic
mine workings (Photo 2). The upper workings are in the lower unit of the
Brushy Basin Shales whilst the more extensive lower workings are in the Salt
Wash Sandstone (Figure 3 and Photos 1 & 2). Drilling proposed in the area
is designed to test for any lateral continuation of mineralisation to the
south in the Brushy Basin Shales, with holes extending down through the
stratigraphy to test for potential stacked mineralisation in the Salt Wash
Sandstone.

Douglas Exploration LLC are undertaking the drilling program, with Jet West
Geophysical Services completing the downhole gamma probe work.

 

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf)

Photo 2: Section 23 looking west towards Groundhog showing stratigraphic horizons.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5413A_1-2022-9-25.pdf)
Figure 3: Simple Stratigraphy of the Uravan Mineral Belt showing the
prospective Morrison Formation.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 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
 Antonio Bossi / Darshan Patel / Megan Liddell

 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

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 
Competent Persons Report

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 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.

 

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.

At Alford East in South Australia, Thor is earning an 80% interest in copper
deposits considered amenable to extraction via In Situ Recovery techniques
(ISR). In January 2021, Thor 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.

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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