By Samantha James
DUAL-listed Thor Mining has entered into an option agreement to sell the advanced Spring Hill gold project in the Northern Territory for $3.5 million, just two months after it acquired the remaining 49 per cent interest.
In October 2015, Thor acquired Western Desert Resources’ interest in Spring Hill for $310,000, before agreeing to sell the asset to private company PC Gold for $3.5 million in December.
As part of the agreement, PC Gold would pay Thor royalties on any gold produced from Spring Hill.
Thor has struggled to finance development of its flagship Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project in the Northern Territory since the January 2015 completion of an updated feasibility study that estimated a $64 million development cost.
“Capital markets for junior resource companies remain extremely tight and we are therefore very pleased with the agreement to sell the Spring Hill project on terms which will considerably strengthen our financial position,” Thor executive chairman Mick Billing said.
“Thor is at the core a tungsten business and while very low commodity prices make project finance for our Molyhil project challenging, our low capital and operating cost estimates stand us in good stead and the board is confident that finance will be secured in the medium term.”
