CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
Dear Shareholders,
On behalf of the Board of Thor Energy Plc, I am pleased to report on the activities of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2024. Much of the focus of the year has been on rationalising and de-risking the portfolio of assets as well as undertaking further exploration and new project evaluation activities.
As flagged last year in my 2023 message to shareholders the Board decided to significantly optimise the portfolio via farm-outs and assets sales to, over time, become significantly more focussed on the energy side of the mining industry as opposed to precious, base and specialty metals.
Despite some recent volatility, the Board believe Uranium is at the beginning of a long-cycle demand upswing and as such much of our 2024 drilling expenditure has been at our US uranium assets. Furthermore, the Company has spent significant time evaluating additional uranium assets in the US and Canada with none, yet, being transacted upon for a variety of reasons. We will continue to seek fairly-priced opportunities in the uranium space.
Elsewhere we have made significant progress at the Molyhil Tungsten-Molybdenum Project where drilling by our joint venture farm-in partner ASX-listed Investigator Resources Limited (“IVR”) has led to the publication of a new JORC-compliant mineral resource statement and post-period the formalisation of the joint venture by both parties and the issuance of the Stage 1 share equity payment to Thor. We look forward to progressing with Molyhil in the coming year.
Thor Energy has a 26.3% interest in EnviroCopper Limited (“ECL”), with the investment focused on cutting-edge In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) Copper extraction technology in South Australia. We were pleased to welcome ASX -listed Alligator Energy to the ECL share register and look forward to their presence as a significant shareholder to help drive these projects forward over the coming year.
Despite the year being a very disappointing one for the share price, I do believe that the participation of other companies in the Thor portfolio outlined above supports the premise that significant value exists within the portfolio. The Company has begun to identify further areas of potential growth into new sub-sectors of the energy space and we look forward to updating shareholders when any new opportunities arise.
Uranium and Vanadium
Drilling commenced at our Colorado Uranium/Vanadium Projects following the finalisation of a thorough negotiation and permitting process with the relevant local and State authorities in Colorado. Results reported from these campaigns in some places exceeded management expectations, with drilling expected to recommence in Q3 2024 to pursue further several encouraging discoveries.
Copper
Our Alford East copper-gold project in South Australia (Thor earning a possible 80% interest in oxide copper mineralisation with Spencer Metals) is being studied in detail for ISR; a low environmental impact, potentially low-cost mining alternative to traditional open cut and undermining techniques. Utilising historic drilling, a maiden inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 177,000 tonnes of contained copper and 71,500 ounces of contained gold was announced back in January 2021.
Thor also has a 26.3% interest in EnviroCopper Limited, with the Kapunda and Alford West ISR copper projects continuing to offer shareholders exposure to copper resources, along with potential for gold. Pleasingly OZ Minerals Limited, now owned by BHP, entered into an agreement to fund technical investigations into ISR technology at the Kapunda copper-gold ISR Project. During the period ASX – listed Alligator Energy chose to invest in ECL equity.
Tungsten
At Molyhil Tungsten-Molybdenum Project, work by our joint venture partners Investigator Resources Limited (ASX: IVR) has resulted in an updated measured resource and more broadly the project has been subject to significant investment by the Company over many years. In November 2022, we concluded a farm-out agreement with Investigator Resources comprising an A$8m, 3-stage process, to 80% interest in the Tenements and acquire Thor’s 40% interest in the Bonya tenement (EL29701). In May 2024, following A$1m in expenditure, Investigator Resources notified Thor that Stage 1 of the Farm-in had been achieved and subsequently the joint venture has been established and the Stage 1 payment comprising the issuance of a deemed A$250,000 in Investigator Resources shares has been made to Thor post-period.
Gold
Thor owns 100% of the Ragged Range gold project in the highly prospective Pilbara region of Western Australia. With our corporate and financial priorities set in uranium and battery metals, realistically we expect a relatively quiet year at Ragged Range and are actively seeking corporate solutions to potentially divest part or all of the project.
Corporate
At a corporate level, we continue to seek to minimise costs to ensure that the maximum amount of money is spent directly on our exploration programmes. In May, we raised A$1.3m before costs to spend on advancing our uranium and copper portfolio within the Uravan Mineral Belt in Colorado and Utah for the Company’s 100% owned uranium assets, as well as evaluating new opportunities. I invested A$100,000 in the placement and our managing director also participated.
Tim Armstrong joined the Board as a non-executive Director in May to strengthen the capital markets and the investor relations of the Company.
On behalf of the Board and staff, I’d like to thank you for your support and we look forward to reporting on our progress over the coming year.
Yours faithfully
Alastair Clayton
Chairman
LATEST
NEWS
Uranium Drilling Commences at Wedding Bell Project
Drilling has commenced at Groundhog Prospect, on the Company’s 100% owned Wedding Bell Project, located in the uranium-vanadium
mining district of the Uravan Mineral Belt, southwest Colorado, USA.
Proposed Acquisition of Hydrogen-Helium Project & Successful Placement
Thor Energy has anounced the conditional acquisition of 80.2% of white hydrogen and helium explorer Go Exploration
Annual Report to Shareholders (2024)
Read Thor Energy’s (ASX/AIM: THR) Annual Report for 2024.
Drill Preparations Underway At Wedding Bell Uranium Project
On-ground drill site preparations are now underway for our 2024 drilling programs at Rim Rock and Groundhog mine areas, with drilling scheduled to commence in early October
Formation of Joint Venture at the Molyhil Tungsten Project, NT
The Directors of Thor Mining (THR) are pleased to announce a joint venture Agreement with ASX-listed Investigator Resources Limited (“IVR”),
Uranium Drill Approvals Granted, Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain Projects, USA
All approvals and permits have been granted to commence follow-up drilling at Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain projects including Rim Rock and Groundhog Prospects