Thor wins $300,000 SA grant for Alford East

Thor’s Alford East copper-gold project has received an endorsement from the South Australian government, which awarded the company $300,000 under the ADI.

Alford East contains large copper-gold oxide resources and was one of 22 projects that received funding in round two of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative.

Where the project differs from other copper-gold projects is Thor Mining’s (ASX:THR) plan to use a solution process (in situ recovery or ISR) rather than traditional mining to recover the metals.

Funds from the ADI will be applied to proof of concept work for the ISR process including resource drilling, hydrometallurgical and environmental studies.

“This is a fabulous result for Thor and its shareholders as it validates the high-quality Alford East Copper-Gold project,” managing director Nicole Warland said.

“The successful grant is a strong endorsement of the technical merits of the project by the South Australian government.”

She added that the funding will expedite the company’s exploration and development program with diamond drilling expected to begin in late May.

Alford East

Alford East covers the northern extension of the Alford copper belt on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula where numerous companies have explored the area for iron oxide copper gold style mineralisation while essentially ignoring the oxide mineralisation.

Thor has used data from over 500 historical holes drilled between 1982 and 2015 to define an inferred resource of 177,000t of contained copper and 71,500oz of contained gold with the potential for further growth.

Where it differs is the company’s plan to use ISR to develop the deposit.

This will see the injection of a leach solution into the orebody and recovering the resulting ore bearing solution for processing, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint.

Should the company successfully prove that ISR is a viable development option at Alford East, it will open up the potential for numerous other oxide copper-gold deposits within the state.

This article was developed in collaboration with Thor Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.