Company Announcements Office,ASX Securities Limited,
20, Bridge Street,
Sydney, N.S.W. 2000
NEW DRILL PROGRAMME TO WIDEN TUNGSTEN RESOURCE AT PILOT MOUNTAIN - NEVADA
The Board of Thor Mining Plc ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM, ASX: THR), is pleased to announce a new drill campaign designed to expand the tungsten resource at the Company's wholly owned Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada, USA (Figure 1).
Scheduled to commence early in February 2017, using the proceeds of the final Spring Hill settlement, the program of eight reverse circulation (RC) drill holes is designed to confirm and expand upon existing high grade drill intersections, which the directors hope will facilitate a significant increase in the existing Pilot Mountain resources, and also test for extensions of very high grade mineralisation, intersected in the Desert Scheelite resource in 2012.
Highlights:
-
Two holes target extension of the 2012 high grade Desert Scheelite intersection from DSDD015 which comprised;13.9 metres (m) @ 0.89%tungsten trioxide (WO3) from 198m, and 17.5m @1.80% copper and 2.2% zinc from 196m (Figure 2);
-
Six holes to validate selected 1970's Union Carbide Corporation drill intersections from the Garnet deposit (Figure 3 & 4);
-
Estimation of initial Garnet deposit resource.
-
Potential extension of the Pilot Mountain resource of 6.79 million tonnes (Mt) @ 0.31% WO3(Table 1)
Mr Mick Billing, Executive Chairman of Thor: "Wehave dual objectives for the drilling programme at Pilot Mountain. The first of these is to add to the overall project resource inventory by twinning some historical holes at the Garnet deposit which, if successful, should allow the preparation of a mineral resource estimate for this deposit.
"The second & potentially very exciting objective is to test for potential extension of very high grade mineralisation at the eastern end of the Desert Scheelite resource, which, if successful, could result in the re-classification of that deposit to a significant copper and tungsten deposit."
Figure 1: Pilot Mountain location map
THOR MINING PLC
Registered Numbers: United Kingdom 05 276 414
Australia 121 117 673
Registered Office: 58 Galway Avenue
MARLESTON, SA, 5035
Australia
Ph: +61 8 7324 1935
Fx: +61 8 8351 5169
Email:[email protected]
Website: www.thormining.com
Enquiries: Mick Billing
Executive Chairman
Thor Mining PLC
+61 8 7324 1935
Nominated Advisor Colin Aaronson Grant Thornton
+44 (0) 20 7383 5100
ASX Listings: Shares: THR
AIM Listings: Shares: THR
Directors: Michael Billing David Thomas Gervaise Heddle Paul Johnson
Key Projects:
Molyhil NT
Pilot Mountain USA
The Desert Scheelite deposit currently comprises 100% of the Pilot Mountain Resource estimate of 6.7Mt. The objective of the two holes programmed at this deposit is to test for extensions to the very high grade mineralisation intersected in the last hole drilled into this deposit in 2012.
|
Resource
|
WO3
|
Ag
|
Cu
|
|
Scheelite
|
Tonnes
|
Grade
%
|
Contained metal (t)
|
Grade g/t
|
Contained metal (t)
|
Grade
%
|
Contained metal (t)
|
|
Indicated
|
6,090,000
|
0.31
|
18,900
|
24.2
|
150
|
0.16
|
10,000
|
|
Inferred
|
700,000
|
0.30
|
2,100
|
9.1
|
10
|
0.24
|
2,000
|
|
Total
|
6,790,000
|
0.31
|
21,000
|
22.8
|
160
|
0.17
|
12,000
|
Table 1: Pilot Mountain Resource Summary 2014 (JORC 2012), announced 10 June 2014. 100% owned by Thor Mining Plc
Desert
Figure 2: Desert Scheelite drill intersections viewed in long section looking northwards. Proposed drill targets and hole paths
shown at the eastern (right hand) end.
Table 2: Summary of Pilot Mountain exploration targets
|
Tonnage (Mt)
|
% WO3
|
Comment
|
|
Tier 1 Exploration Targets*
|
7.5 - 13.5
|
0.3 - 0.5
|
Based on historic drill intersections
|
|
Tier 2 Exploration Targets*
|
3.5 - 9.1
|
0.3 - 0.5
|
Based on favourable geology and proximity to known mineralisation.
|
|
Total Exploration Target*
|
11.0 - 23.0
|
0.3 - 0.5
|
Combined Tier 1 & 2
|
Tier 1 Exploration Targets* at Pilot Mountain are based on 1970's drilling undertaken by Union Carbide Corporation and total 7.5 to 13.5 Mt at 0.2 to 0.4% WO3(Table 2). The proposed drilling at Garnet will target conversion to resource of between 1.0 to 2.0Mt of the total Tier 1 Exploration Target.
*Exploration Targets are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource under the JORC Code and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource.
Figure 3: Six proposed RC drill holes at the Garnet prospect shown as red dots amongst historic drilling shown as black dots.
The dill program will facilitate the estimation of an initial resource for the Garnet prospect.
Figure 4: East - west cross section through one of the seven mineralised zone from the 1970's Union Carbide Corp drilling. Historic drilling indicates a further two mineralised horizons exist below that shown in the figure above. (Cross section trace shown in Figure 3)
To meet the objective of the program at the Garnet deposit Thor have scheduled 6 RC drill holes designed as twins to historical drilling from which the following results were reported
|
Historical Drill hole ref
|
Interval (m)
|
Assay (%WO₃)
|
From hole depth (m)
|
|
GR66
|
3.8
|
0.50%
|
3.2
|
|
7.9
|
0.14%
|
40.5
|
|
4.9
|
0.49%
|
83.6
|
|
|
|
GR98
|
0.7
|
0.30%
|
7.8
|
|
4.1
|
0.28%
|
13.6
|
|
1.2
|
0.51%
|
18.3
|
|
|
|
GR100
|
2.2
|
0.20%
|
7.1
|
|
3.4
|
0.06%
|
11.5
|
|
4.6
|
0.36%
|
15.1
|
|
9.4
|
0.42%
|
25.9
|
|
|
|
GR-119
|
2.2
|
0.32%
|
29.9
|
|
2.9
|
0.16%
|
32.1
|
|
3.0
|
0.90%
|
34.9
|
|
|
|
GR-123
|
4.5
|
0.58%
|
14.0
|
|
|
|
GR-128
|
7.7
|
0.04%
|
18.9
|
|
1.4
|
0.40%
|
29.9
|
|
1.2
|
0.12%
|
44.2
|
|
1.5
|
0.12%
|
48.2
|
For further information, please contact:
THOR MINING PLC