27th Mar 2007 07:00
Thor Mining PLC27 March 2007 THOR MINING PLC Molyhil Project Dated: 27 March 2007 Thor Mining PLC ("Thor" or the "Company") the specialist metals companycurrently focussed on advancing tungsten-molybdenum and uranium projects in theNorthern Territory of Australia, today announced that it had completed itscurrent drilling program at its Molyhil Tungsten-Molybdenum Project ("Molyhil"). Highlights • 25-hole RC drilling program completed for 2,586m, designed to increase current resource and reserve inventory; • New resource estimate underway, with drilling successful in identifying extensions of the mineralisation outside of the current mining reserve; • Progress on Native Title Mining Agreement made as a result of a Board visit to Molyhil; and • A fifteen person due diligence team from Hunan will visit Molyhil and Perth commencing 25 March. Thor today announced the completion of its recent 25-hole drilling program for2,586m. The program was successful in identifying extensions of themineralisation outside of the current mining reserve and is expected to lay thefoundations for an increase in the resource and reserve inventory. The reverse circulation ("RC") drilling program - which comprised a total of 25holes drilled for 2,586m - was designed to in-fill the up-dip extensions of newzones of Hanging Wall mineralisation discovered last year. In addition, severaldeeper RC holes were completed to convert previously identified inferredresources to the indicated category. Twenty one of the holes intersected good widths of black rock skarn - the hostrock for the tungsten-molybdenum mineralisation at Molyhil - with a significantnumber of holes intersecting mineralisation outside of the current pit design. Holes 07MHR007 to 07MHR0010 confirmed the up-dip position of mineralisation onboth the Yacht Club and Southern mineralised zones, intersecting good widths ofblack rock skarn ("BRS") ranging from 6m to 56m. Drilling also targeted areas ator near the base of both the stage 1 and stage 2 pit designs, with drill holes007MHR012 to 007MHR014 in this area, again intersecting significant widths ofblack rock skarn up to 26m. At the southern end of the stage 2 pit design, RC drill holes 007MHR021,007MHR022 and 007MHR025 all intersected significant widths of black rock skarnjust below 110m, the final depth of the proposed pit. Depending on the resultsfrom this program, the new drilling may result in a change to the final pitdesign. Twenty one of the holes intersected good widths of black rock skarn, the hostrock for the tungsten-molybdenum mineralisation at Molyhil. Significantly, anumber of holes intersected mineralisation outside of the current open pitdesign, confirming the potential to increase the current resource/reserve baseand, ultimately potentially extending the mine life of the proposed Molyhiloperation. Assay results from the drilling should be available in mid-to-late April 2007.Continental Resource Management has been engaged to commence work on an updatedblock and resource model incorporating the recent RC drill data. An updatedresource estimate is expected to be completed by May 2007. Commenting on the latest results, Thor's Chief Executive Officer, Mr John A.Young, said: "I am confident that we have confirmed the potential for theHanging Wall zone to deliver an overall increase in contained metal within theexisting pit design. Once all the results are received, our next step will be tore-model and re-calculate the resource numbers." Thor's development of Molyhil Tungsten-Molybdenum Project is being conducted inparallel with its Northern Territory uranium exploration programs, which arescheduled to commence in April 2007 subject to final approvals from the NorthernTerritory Department of Mines and the Central Land Council. PROGRESS ON NATIVE TITLE A meeting was held on site at Molyhil on the 22nd March 2007 with theTraditional Owners of the area, in conjunction with the Central Land Council ("CLC"). The main focus of this meeting was to obtain the approval of theTraditional Owners for the proposed infrastructure locations with the aim ofquickly progressing the Mining Agreement which is currently under negotiation.Three of Thor's Board members attended this meeting at Molyhil, which resultedin a favourable outcome with agreement reached on the proposed mininginfrastructure plan as presented by Thor. A tentative meeting is now scheduled for early April with the CLC team tofinalise the Native Title Mining Agreement. Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corp Ltd ("HNG") In accordance with the terms of the recently announced Memorandum ofUnderstanding ("MOU") with HNG, due diligence commences in Australia this week.In total, approximately fifteen persons will visit either the Molyhil site orthe Perth office of Thor. Hunan has until 15 April to complete due diligence and until 30 April tocomplete commercial negotiations. The commercial negotiations are currentlyscheduled to proceed in China in the last week of April. As a result of this, the mandate with Penfold Marketing has now been extendedfrom 15 March to 30 April 2007. JORC Compliance The information in this report that relates to exploration results, mineralresources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by John Young, who isa Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. John Young is adirector of Thor Mining PLC. John Young has sufficient experience which isrelevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under considerationand to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person asdefined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting ofExploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". John Young consentsto the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in theform and context in which it appears. Enquiries: John Young + 61 (0)419 954 020 Thor Mining PLC Chief Executive OfficerJohn Simpson 020 7512 0191 ARM Corporate Finance Limited Nominated AdviserLeesa Peters 020 7429 6600 Conduit PR Limited Public Relations/UK or 020 7429 6603Jos SimpsonNicolas Read + 61 (0) 8 9388 1474 Read Corporate Public Relations/Australia Updates on the Company's activities are regularly posted on Thor's websitewww.thormining.com, which includes a facility to register to receive theseupdates by email. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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