Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF) CEO Segun Lawson sat down with Proactive to talk about the company's recent acquisition of the Guitry gold project in Côte d'Ivoire.
Lawson said the company is excited by the potential of the 300 square kilometer property, which has numerous unexplored areas and several confirmed mineralization zones.
Proactive: Exciting news out of the company today. We're glad we were able to get in touch with you and have you here to talk about this acquisition that you've made. Guitry is a gold exploration project. Tell me a little bit about the area it's in for people who are unfamiliar with it.
Segun Lawson: Yes, I think to put things in context, we’re a West Africa-focused gold producer. We have our flagship project in Nigeria, which is producing gold and aiming to produce about 90,000 ounces this year. We also have a project in Senegal going through a preliminary feasibility study process, and it’s a project we’re looking forward to building and kicking off next year.
We’re growing as a company, so we always have our eyes open for good opportunities in West Africa. Ivory Coast has been a great success story for gold mining in recent years. We’ve been looking there for the best part of a year and came across the Guitry project, which is an advanced exploration project covering some very prospective ground in the Permian.
When I say advanced, it’s had a lot of drilling done on it—over 11,000 ounces with some very interesting drill intersections like 12 meters at 10g/t, 16 meters at 8g/t, and 24 meters at 2g/t. So, it’s a compelling project for us to explore further. We’ve done a deeper dive into the data room, visited the site, and are excited about the large piece of ground, which is almost 300km², with confirmed mineralization and a number of drill targets.
Will you be focusing on areas that have already seen some drilling, or are there other areas you’ve identified that might also be of interest?
Yes, there are two main targets that we’ll focus on initially, and excitingly, both remain open along strike. We’re going to do some work to see how much further we can extend those, and we’ll also work on untested targets to get them drill-ready.
You also announced in the news release that you’ve picked up another property, the Boundiali exploration permit, through Gold Ridge Resources. This is much earlier stage, right?
Yes, this is an early-stage project, well behind where we are with Guitry. But we thought it was perspective enough to take an option on it and decide over the next 36 months if it’s something we want to invest more in. But we’re very happy to be in Ivory Coast, and we believe these projects can add significant value for our shareholders.
Could you tell me a bit about Thor Exploration for those who aren’t familiar with the company?
It’s been a transformational five years for us. We’ve built the first large-scale gold mine in Nigeria, and we’ve been producing gold for two years now. This is our third calendar year, and we’ll have fully delivered on our senior debt facility by the end of the year.
We’re generating strong cash flows, with $52 million in revenue last quarter. We’re also growing, with drill programs in Nigeria to extend the mine life, and we expect to release new results soon. Additionally, we’re working on a second project in Senegal, which holds 1.78 million ounces of gold, and we’re aiming to push that above 2 million ounces. Now, with the Guitry project, we’re aiming to have a maiden resource of half a million to 1 million ounces by the end of next year.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style