The directors of Thor Mining Plc (“Thor”) (AIM, ASX: THR, OTCQB: THORF) are pleased to provide an update on drilling at the Company’s 100% owned Ragged Range Project, located in the Eastern Pilbara, Western Australia.
Project highlights:
· Due to mechanical issues, only 50% of the planned maiden Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program completed at the Sterling prospect.
· Significant sulphides (pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite), quartz veining and sericite-pyrite-fuchsite alteration identified, characteristic of gold mineralisation in the East Pilbara Craton.
· Low grade gold in 3m composites and pathfinder elements will assist to vector in on stream and soil gold source .
· Thor is targeting Archaean structurally controlled lode gold mineralisation hosted in basaltic and ultramafic rocks of the Warrawoona Group, within the 100% held Kelly greenstone belt .
· Thor plans to complete the planned drilling program at the Sterling prospect whilst undertaking further geophysics, mapping and geochemical sampling over additional gold, nickel and lithium targets in the project area.
Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director of Thor Mining, commented:
“Due to mechanical issues, only half of the planned drilling program at the Sterling prospect has been completed, with 50% of the strong gold anomalies therefore remaining untested. Although no significant gold was intercepted in the maiden RC program, this is only the start of our gold campaign at the prospect, with the best ground yet to be tested. Elevated pathfinder elements and broad zones of alteration are positive indicators that we are in close proximity to the gold source.
We are currently planning our 2022 field program, with further drilling to complete the original program and new targets identified at the Sterling prospect. Geophysics (airborne and ground surveys) and geochemical sampling programs are planned over our additional gold, nickel and lithium target areas.
Permitting is progressing well at our Wedding Bell Uranium Project in the US and we hope to update the market in the coming weeks, along with the assay results from our recently completed successful diamond drilling at the Molyhil critical minerals project in the Northern Territory. ”
The Ragged Range Project, located in the prospective Eastern Pilbara Craton, Western Australia (Figure 1) is 100% owned by Thor Mining – (E46/1190, E46/1262, E46/1355, E46/1340) with the recent additional tenure surrounding the gold anomalous zones, E46/1393 (application).
Figure 1: Tenement and Prospect Location Plan may be viewed via the following link:
http://www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/20-004-1B-Ragged-Range-Location.jpg
Sterling Prospect – Gold
Since acquiring the Ragged Range project in late 2019, Thor have completed a series of systematic stream sediment programs and soils surveys over the tenure and an airborne magnetic survey, defining a 13km structurally controlled gold corridor – Sterling Prospect (Figure 2). High-grade gold stream results, including up to 2.2g/t Au were reported from sampling in 2019 and 2020 (THR:ASX announcement 1/12/2020).
These surface geochemistry surveys defined continuous anomalous gold zones, with some zones extending over 1km long at both the Sterling Central and Sterling South areas (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
The gold anomalism generally strikes slightly oblique to the Euro Basalt and Dalton Suite contact suggesting that gold mineralisation is controlled by minor faults and structures, that splay off this major structure.
Figure 2: Tenement and Prospective areas including Sterling Prospect can be viewed with the following link:
www.thormining.com/sites/thormining/media/maps/ragged-range—prospect-location-map.jpg
RC Drilling Program
41 shallow (50-96m) RC drillholes totalling 2,155m were completed at the Sterling Prospect (Table A). Drill holes were designed to angle-overlap, orientated at -60 degrees toward the west, near perpendicular to the structural controls of the dominant, faulted contact between the Euro Basalt and the Dalton Suite ultramafics (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
3m composite samples returned no significant gold intercepts (max of 0.1g/t Au), though intersections of strong broad zones of quartz veining, sericite, silica alteration, sulphides and fuchsite, characteristic of gold mineralisation in the Pilbara, are positive indicators of close proximity to the gold source (Photo Plate 1). In many of the drill holes close to the fault contact, sericite and silica alteration of the Euro Basalt is strong (Photo Plate 2). This alteration style forms the distal alteration halo around many gold deposits. Sulphide veining with chalcopyrite, pyrite and sphalerite was observed in drill chips. Higher grade gold is associated with sulphide mineralisation at the Calidus Resources’ Warrawoona Project.
This maiden RC program was designed to test eight strong gold anomalies at Sterling Central and Sterling South prospects, defined from soil and stream sediment sampling programs.
Due to numerous mechanical drilling issues, only half of the proposed drilling program was completed, with 50% of the anomalies remaining untested.
Figure 3: Drill lines overlying Sterling Prospect-Central soil and stream gold anomalies may be viewed by the following link:
Figure 4: Drill lines overlying Sterling Prospect-Central soil and stream gold anomalies may be viewed by the following link:
Photo Plate 1 -Fuchsite (chromium rich muscovite) alteration in 21RRRC008 may be viewed by the following link:
Photo Plate 2 -Sericite alteration in 21RRC010 may be viewed by the following link:
Next Steps
Thor is planning follow up drilling at Sterling prospect completing the planned program and targeting the fault contact in the area between Sterling Central and Sterling South.
In addition, an airborne magnetic/radiometric survey will be flown over the eastern portion of the tenure including E46/1340 and E46/1393, ground ‘fixed loop’ electromagnetics (FLEM) is scheduled over the nickel gossan, whilst geological mapping and geochemical sampling is planned over additional gold, nickel and lithium targets in the project area.
Table A: Drillhole Collar (MGA94-Z50)
Thor Mining PLC
Nicole Galloway Warland, Managing Director
Ray Ridge, CFO / Company Secretary
Tel: +61 (8) 7324 1935
Tel: +61 (8) 7324 1935
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 , 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 km2 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.²
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
