LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Thor Mining advised the market of a plan to further advance exploration of, and assess potential development options for, the Jervois Vanadium Project in the Northern Territory of Australia on Wednesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the project was held in joint venture between Arafura at 60% and Thor at 40%, with Thor acting as manager.

It said the plan had been agreed by both parties.

Thor said Jervois had "substantial" exploration history, including 60 reverse circulation holes drilled between 2006 and 2008, which intersected "extensive" potentially-economic grades of vanadium and titanium.

Selected samples from 14 holes, assayed for gold and platinum group elements, reportedly returned up to 1.59 parts per million of combined gold, plus platinum and palladium.

It reported an exploration target range of 90 to 110 million tonnes at between 0.3% and 0.8% vanadium pentoxide, and 4% to 8% titanium dioxide, determined from 1,295 metres of assayed mineralisation.

The potential quantity and grade of the exploration target was conceptual in nature, the board explained, as there had been insufficient exploration to estimate a mineral resource, and it was uncertain if further exploration would result in the estimation of a mineral resource.

"Substantial" laboratory testwork had demonstrated the potential to produce concentrates with grades of one to two percent titanium pentoxide, which Thor said was comparable to others around the world , with attractive recoveries of 61% to 69%.

Future work would focus on resource drilling the Casper, Coco, and RD deposits, testing other prospects for potential economic grades of vanadium and titanium, and follow-up work on the gold and platinum group elements potential on all prospects.

Subject to the successful completion of these activities, next steps would include further metallurgical studies, along with environmental and social impact studies.

Thor said the joint venture objective was to seek project-level investors to advance the project through resource development, and subsequent feasibility and permitting activities.

"We are excited to have an interest in the Jervois vanadium deposits at a time of stimulated global interest in vanadium," said Thor executive chairman Mick Billing

"Thor acquired an interest in the Jervois vanadium deposits, at no additional cost, with the acquisition of the Bonya tungsten deposits."

Billing said that had proved to be an "unanticipated bonus" to the acquisition.

"Vanadium metal has very a robust baseline demand in the construction industry, along with exciting prospects as a potential battery metal where large capacity storage is required."

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