Acquires Advanced Tin Project
Sydney, April 13, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Thomson Resources Ltd (
ASX:TMZ) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a significant tin exploration project consisting of two exploration licences, near the Ardlethan Mine, NSW (Figures 1, 2 in link below). Ardlethan is the biggest tin occurrence in NSW with an endowment of over 50,000 tonnes of contained tin. Aberfoyle Tin NL is recorded to have produced 25,000 tonnes of tin in concentrate from open cut and underground operations between 1964 and 1986. The mine itself is on mining leases excluded from the acquired exploration licences and are held by private company Australian Tin Resources Pty Ltd, who are considering recommencing operations.
EL 8260 surrounds the Ardlethan mining leases and contains multiple prospects including a small proportion of the identified remaining mineralisation from the mine including the Godfrey South, Blackreef and Champion's Deep reefs (Figure 2). EL 8163 also has multiple prospects including the Bygoo North tin working, 7km north of Ardlethan.
The Bygoo North is considered the key prospect within the tenements and has similar geology to Ardlethan including proximity to the Ardlethan Granite, believed to have been the source for tin deposition in the region. The prospect also has strongly analogous magnetic signature to that of Ardlethan, consisting of a magnetic high surrounded by a ring magnetic low (Figure 3 in link below).
Former work at Bygoo North included limited drilling which generated a series of strong intersections (Table 1) to the northeast of the magnetic anomaly, where the shallow historical workings occur. This drilling defined tin mineralisation within greisened Ardlethan Granite, one of the major host rocks to tin mineralisation at Ardlethan (Figure 2). The best drill section shows strong mineralisation in several holes with good continuity (Figure 4). This drilling has partly defined a sheet of mineralisation approximately 20m thick, dipping steeply to the east and open to the north and west.
Table 1 - best recorded intercepts at Bygoo North
Hole From To Width Tin grade (m) (m) (m) (% Sn)P293 77.7 79.2 1.5 4.01P307* 32 36.5 4.5 0.59P308* 39.6 73.1 33.5 0.30P313** 30.5 45.7 15.2 0.52P318* 61.0 94.5 33.5 0.29P319 76.2 102.1 25.9 0.60P320 102.1 117.4 15.3 0.30P326* 88.0 134.0 46.0 0.61P352 149.7 176.5 26.8 0.17P380 153.0 171.0 18.0 0.50
All widths are down hole widths.
* means this hole is shown on Figure 3.
** P313 is drilled 130m south of the Figure 3 section.
Most of the former drilling at Bygoo North has been ineffective and has not tested the position of the greisen which is inferred to wrap around the northern closure of a dome, corresponding to the magnetic anomaly in Figure 3. More than half of the holes (22 from 37) were drilled vertically and missed the projected zone including all of the last holes drilled in 2008. The north, west and south part of the magnetic anomaly are virtually untested; a single hole in the south part of the prospect (P313) returned 15m at 0.5% Sn.
This intersection, drilled in 1977, has not been followed up and represents an immediate drill target.
The strength of the US dollar has resulted in tin prices in Australian Dollar terms remaining high, and the tin industry is optimistic on future pricing of tin with several large producers coming close to the end of their operations. Good opportunities arise in such circumstances and a new, near-surface tin deposit in a favourable jurisdiction should attract serious interest.
To complete the transaction Thomson Resources will issue 8 million shares at a deemed price of 1.8c per share to the principals of Riverston Tin Pty Ltd., holder of the two ELs, in return for 100% control of the company. A further 5 million shares will be issued on definition of a JORC resource in excess of 10,000 tonnes of contained tin at a cut off of 0.4% Sn. Environmental bonds of $20,000 will also be reimbursed.
Thomson Resources will launch a drilling campaign to test the greisen zone at Bygoo as soon as regulatory approvals are received - drilling is anticipated to commence in mid May 2015. Thomson has also reached agreement with drilling company and shareholder Australian Mineral & Waterwell Drilling Pty Ltd to issue up to 3.5 million shares in return for such drilling services on completion of this program (the issue price to be deemed as the same price paid to secure Riverston Tin PL).
To view figures, diagrams and drill data, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-TMZ-852453.pdf
About Thomson Resources Ltd
Thomson Resources Ltd (ASX:TMZ) is an NSW active mineral explorer. Thomson has several tin projects (including an advanced project near Ardlethan), as well as gold, copper and zinc targets in a range of settings. Thomson has a good record of discovery, with multiple new Intrusion-Related Gold (gold with copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, tungsten) systems discovered in the Thomson Fold Belt in the NW of the state.
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