RNS Number : 6157R
Thor Mining PLC
01 May 2009
THOR MINING PLC
QUARTERLY REPORT - MARCH 2009
Thor Mining PLC ('the Company' or 'Thor'), AIM, ASX: 'THR' the specialist metals company focused on advancing tungsten-molybdenum and uranium projects in the Northern Territory of Australia, today released its quarterly report for the period to 31 March 2009.
HIGHLIGHTS
MOLYHIL TUNGSTEN-MOLYBDENUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ('MOLIHIL')
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The selling price of Molybdenum Roasted Concentrates has reduced slightly during the last quarter and showing some signs of support at US$8/lb. The selling price of Tungsten APT has reduced slightly to between US$210/mtu and US$225/mtu. Demand for the commodities has increased slightly over the period, with worldwide stockpiles nearly exhausted. Demand is showing signs of improvement for the remainder of the year, as the steel industry shows increased production levels.
EXPLORATION PROJECTS
CORPORATE
MOLYHIL TUNGSTEN - MOLYBDENUM PROJECT
Molyhil is a proposed open cut mine and processing facility to be constructed in the Northern Territory. The main objective of the proposed facility is to produce scheelite, molybdenite and magnetite concentrates for sale.
Thor, through its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Molyhil Mining Pty Ltd, owns 100% of Molyhil, which comprises two EL's 22349 and 24392, totalling 829km2 in area, and includes three granted Mining Leases 23825, 24429 and 25721. The combined Mining Leases cover an area of 247ha.
Molyhil has a proposed mine life of 5.7 years from a mining reserve of 2.12 million tonnes at 0.21% MoS2 and 0.47% WO3, this reserve contains 10.4 million pounds of MoS2 and 1.05 million mtu's of WO3.
MOLYHIL DEVELOPMENT
Finance
Development of the project and in particular financing has been the main focus for the period. The Thor management team continues to meet with many potential financiers and partners with a view to getting the project into operation. The discussions have been positive to date, however the mood is still very cautious in the current financial climate.
Development
The capital reduction programme and investigation into the reduction of operating costs is ongoing and is expected to be completed in the next quarter with a revised feasibility study being published.
The magnetite marketing samples have now been tested by several potential customers. As shown by the Australian Coal Institute Research Laboratories the magnetite is of exemplary quality throughout all the size ranges. Grinding tests have also been completed to demonstrate that the plus 75 micron minus 250 micron material can be successfully ground to minus 75 microns and maintain the characteristics required for coal washing. This greatly increases the amount of saleable product from the operations.
The minus 250 micron, plus 75 micron size fraction is still being investigated for its market suitability and the samples produced to date have all the attributes required for the steel producing industry.
EXPLORATION PROJECTS
MOLYHIL EXPLORATION
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Test an IP (induced polarisation) anomaly outside of the proposed pit boundary which had the potential to substantially increase the size of the Molyhil resource.
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Infill drilling within the proposed pit to tighten up the resource calculation.
OTHER PROJECTS
No work was completed this quarter at the Hatches Creek, Harts Range, Curtis Pound, Bundey River and Hale River Projects.
CASH POSITION
The quarter closed with A$1.2 million cash reserves.
JORC Compliance
The information in this report that relates to exploration results, mineral resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by John Young, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. John Young is a director of Thor Mining PLC. John Young has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. John Young consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Enquiries:
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Mick Billing
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+ 61 (0) 414 741 007
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Thor Mining PLC
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Executive Chairman
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Damian Delaney
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+61 438 921 666
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Thor Mining PLC
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Chief Financial Officer
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John Simpson / Charlotte Stranner
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020 7776 6550
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Daniel Stewart & Company plc
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Nominated Adviser
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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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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