Thor Explorations Ltd (TSX-V:THX, AIM:THX, OTC:THXPF) has announced results from initial drilling at the newly discovered Sambara Prospect and continued drilling at the Makosa gold deposit at its Douta Gold Project in Senegal.
"We are pleased to report a successful initial drilling campaign on the Sambara prospect. Significantly, this has established that gold mineralisation is developed in the northern parts of our exploration permit. We look forward to advancing exploration on this discovery which we hope will supplement the Makosa resource,” Segun Lawson, Thor president & CEO, said in a statement.
"In addition, the first batch of samples from the Makosa upgrade drilling program have produced very positive results that suggest that the resource may extend at depth. We are looking forward to receiving further results from our drilling program which will continue over the next six weeks," he added.
READ: Thor Explorations reports 'milestone' second quarter; posts net profit of over US$6M
A comprehensive exploration program, comprising approximately 5,000 metres (m) of reverse circulation drilling in the first phase, was designed to upgrade parts of the existing resource and test a newly identified target located towards the northern parts of the exploration licence which is known as Sambara.
Initial results suggest that Sambara could potentially develop into a supplemental high-grade resource. In addition, drilling at the southern extremity of Makosa has resulted in a high-grade intersection which indicates that robust mineralisation extends at depth.
Highlights include:
Sambara
- Drillhole DTRC426 6m at 4.80 grams per ton (g/t) gold (Au) from 65m
- Drillhole DTRC431 6m at 4.80g/t Au from 12m
- Drillhole DTRC491 2m at 6.39g/t Au from 8m
- Drillhole DTRC493 6m at 2.58g/t Au from 57m
- Drillhole DTRC497 2m at 5.85g/t Au from 26m
Makosa
- Drillhole DTRC504 8m at 4.77g/t Au from 62m
- Drillhole DTRC506 4m at 2.95g/t Au from 1m
The Douta Gold Project is a gold exploration permit E02038 that covers an area of area of 58 kilometres (km) and is located within the Kenieba inlier, eastern Senegal. The permit encompasses the Makosa Gold Deposit which currently comprises an Inferred Resource of 730,000 ounces of gold. The northeast-trending permit has an area of 58 km.
The Sambara Prospect is located 15 km north-east along strike from the Makosa resource. Drilling targeted an anomalous zone defined by auger geochemical sampling.
Thior Explorations is a Canadian mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties located in Nigeria, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Thor holds a 100% interest in the Segilola Gold Project located in Osun State of Nigeria. Mining and production commenced at Segilola in 2021. Additionally, Thor holds a 70% economic interest in the Douta Gold Project located in south-eastern Senegal.
Douta could hold lots of upside, says Canaccord
In a separate note, analysts at Canaccord wrote that the Douta project could represent a “significant upside” for Thor, and even form a new project.
“We do not currently include any value for in our valuation but note that it could represent a significant upside for the company and form a new project to allocate the significant cash flows that we expect the Segilola mine in Nigeria to generate over the coming years,” Canaccord analysts wrote.
Canaccord also noted that it expects spot (around US$1,715 per ounce) free cash flow yields of nearly 29% for the company in 2023, with spot EV/EBITDA of 2.6 times and 1.9 times in by the end of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The firm has a Buy rating on Thor’s shares, which are currently trading around C$0.25 in Toronto.
--Updates with analyst comment--
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com