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‘Radioactive’ samples from Thor’s Colorado play return high-grade uranium
Mining
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Special Report: Thor has reported further assays of up to 1.25 per cent uranium and 3.47 per cent vanadium from field sampling at its Colorado projects.
The results were returned from 13 outstanding samples that were deemed too radioactive for the original laboratory.
Thor Mining (ASX:THR) said the assays returned average results of 0.706 per cent uranium and 1.36 per cent vanadium.
Four of the samples assayed 1 per cent uranium or more while three samples assayed over 2 per cent vanadium.
This compares with the previous set of eight samples that had radioactivity levels low enough for routine assays, which returned results averaging 1 per cent vanadium and 0.043 per cent uranium.
“The samples collected have been shown to host very high-grade uranium and vanadium mineralisation, which is considered typical of historical production performance in the Uravan Mineral Belt,” executive director Mick Billing said.
“Work associated with due diligence for the acquisition of the projects is nearing completion, and while we are past the due diligence period estimated, we have maintained an active dialogue with the project vendors and hope to be able to complete this process shortly.”
Under the option agreement, Thor has agreed to pay $100,100 in cash and shares to secure an exclusive option to acquire American Vanadium.
If Thor goes ahead with the acquisition it will issue $144,000 worth of shares and future payments of performance rights for the issue of up to 102 million shares over three stages.
Highly prospective uranium, vanadium ground
American Vanadium owns 199 contiguous claims (the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain projects) in the famed Uravan Mineral Belt in southwestern Colorado and 100 claims (Vanadium King project) in southeastern Utah.
The Uravan Mineral Belt has been an important source of uranium and vanadium in the US for more than 100 years, producing more than 85 million pounds of uranium and over 660 million pounds of vanadium.
Average production grades from the 1940s to January 1979 are reported to be 0.25 per cent uranium and 1.29 per cent vanadium.
All three projects are located within trucking distance of Energy Fuels’ White Mesa mill, the only fully licensed and operational uranium and vanadium processing plant in the US that has substantial available capacity for toll treating.
