The company will now issue the vendor of American Vanadium, which holds the projects, with 18 million THR shares as full payment of the milestone.
Field sampling carried out by Thor Mining (ASX:THR) during the due diligence period had returned assays of up to 1.25 per cent uranium and 3.47 per cent vanadium.
This more than meets the criteria of having 15 or more samples from three or more adits/shafts at the Radium Mountain and Wedding Bell prospects returning grades of more than 0.1 per cent uranium or 1 per cent vanadium.
“Our next step with this project is likely to be a drilling program on a number of the Colorado targets, scheduled following the North American winter,” executive chairman Mick Billing said.
Uranium and vanadium assets
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.
Both the Wedding Bell and Radium Mountain groups of mines in Colorado are reported to have operated during the first world war and again in the second half of the 20th Century until about 1981 when the price of uranium collapsed.
Meanwhile, the historical drilling at Vanadium King in the early 1980s by Hunt Oil resulted in the definition of a shallow, low-grade non-JORC resource.
All three projects are located within trucking distance of Energy Fuels’ White Mesa mill at Blanding, the only fully licensed and operational uranium and vanadium processing plant in the US.
Progress payments
With the first progress payment approved, Thor has a further two payments to make if certain milestones are met.
The second performance payment is of $252,000 through the issue of 42 million THR shares on drilling ore grade intercepts from at least three holes from any deposits at a product grade and thickness of about 0.4 per cent uranium, or its equivalent.
The third payment of a further $252,000 through the issue of 42 million THR shares is payable on reporting a JORC resource of at least 5 million tonnes grading 0.1 per cent uranium or 1 per cent vanadium.
www.ferroalloynet.com
