Thor Mining (ASX:THR) lands county approval for uranium-vanadium drilling program

• Junior explorer Thor Mining (THR) steps closer to kicking off a drilling program at its Wedding Bell project in Colorado after landing relevant approvals from a local county
• Thor says the San Miguel County has approved its proposed drilling plan at the Rim Rock and Section 23 prospects in the project area
• This means Thor can kick off drilling once it receives final sign-off from the Federal Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety
• Thor says it is already preparing to engage contractors to begin the drilling work, which at this stage is slated for early during the US summer season
• Shares in Thor Mining are up nearly 5.88 per cent in early trading action, trading at 1.8 cents each

Junior explorer Thor Mining (THR) is stepping closer to kicking off a drilling program at its Wedding Bell project in Colorado after landing relevant approvals from a local county.

Thor this morning said the San Miguel County had approved its proposed drilling plan at the Rim Rock and Section 23 prospects in the project area. This means all that remains is for Thor to receive final sign-off from the Federal Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS) before drilling can begin.

The company said with these final approvals to be sought in the coming weeks, it was already preparing to engage contractors to kick off drilling work early in the US summer season, which begins in June.

Thor Managing Director Nicole Galloway Warland said the company was particularly excited to begin drilling at the Section 23 zone in the project area, which was so far untested despite its “favourable” geological setting.

“With the US seeking domestic uranium supply to potentially replace its Russian import
of uranium, we are pleased to be in a position to have three drill-ready uranium-vanadium assets in the high-grade, historic producing Uravan Minerals Belt, US,” Ms Warland said.

“Thor is led by a management and technical team with proven uranium credentials and through working closely with our US team, we look forward to progressing our exciting uranium projects in Colorado.”

Thor said field sampling at the Wedding Bell area had returned assays with high-grade uranium and vanadium, including 1.25 per cent triuranium octoxide ad 3.47 per cent vanadium pentoxide.

Looking ahead, Thor said it would finalise its environmental management plan for drilling in the area in line with the remaining approvals for the project.

The company said uranium prices were trading near 11-year highs and expected to remain strong in the short- to medium-term given the Russia-Ukraine war and associated energy supply concerns.

Shares in Thor Mining were up 5.88 per cent in early trading action, trading at 1.8 cents each at 11:52 am AEST.