Thor Mining (ASX:THR) looks to resume maiden drilling campaign at Ragged Range

• Thor Mining (THR) plans to continue a maiden drill program at its Ragged Range project in WA’s Eastern Pilbara region following mechanical drilling issues
• The program has been designed to test eight strong gold anomalies at the Sterling prospects
• While no significant gold has been returned so far, Thor says it encountered broad zones of quartz veining, sericite, silica alteration, sulphides and fuchsite
• The company says it will complete the remainder of the drilling while also undertaking further geophysics, mapping and geochemical sampling over gold, nickel and lithium targets
• THR shares down 4.17 per cent to 1.2 cents

Thor Mining (THR) plans to continue testing several gold anomalies as part of a maiden drilling program at its Ragged Range project in Western Australia’s Eastern Pilbara region following mechanical drilling issues.

The company said it had so far completed 41 shallow reverse circulation (RC) holes totalling 2,155 metres.

The maiden drilling campaign was designed to vector in on eight gold anomalies at the Sterling Central and Sterling South prospects.

Three-metre composite samples returned no significant gold intercepts, with a peak value of 0.1 grams per tonne gold.

However, Thor said strong broad zones of quartz veining, sericite, silica alteration, sulphides and fuchsite – characteristic of gold mineralisation in the East Pilbara Craton – were encountered.

It said these were positive indicators of close proximity to the gold source.

Due to mechanical drilling issues, only half of the drilling program has been completed.

The company said it intended completing the remainder of the drilling while also undertaking further geophysical surveys, geological mapping and geochemical sampling over gold, nickel and lithium targets in the project area.

“Although no significant gold was intercepted in the maiden RC program, this is only the start of our gold campaign at the prospect, with the best ground yet to be tested,” Managing Director Nicole Galloway Warland said.

“Elevated pathfinder elements and broad zones of alteration are positive indicators that we are in close proximity to the gold source.”

THR shares were trading 4.17 per cent lower at 1.2 cents at 12:14 pm AEDT.