Vancouver company to set up mining operations in Nigeria

Thor Explorations, a company hailing from Vancouver, is going to begin construction on Nigeria’s gold mine which will be a first for the country. 

Thor Explorations (TSX-V:THX), which is a Canadian listed mining company, will soon begin constructing the Segilola project in Nigeria, the first ever large-scale gold mine project for the country.

The company released results of their independent definite feasibility study (DFS) for gold mining. Thor will also construct a processing plant capable of outputs of up to 625,000 tons per year alongside an open pit mine. These plans will comprise of a double-stage grinding, elution, gravity, carbon-inleach, conventional crushing circuit, smelting to make gold ore, and electrowinning.

Segun Lawson, the company’s President and CEO, has this to say about the project’s feasibility studies, “The PFS not only returned solid economics at a low capital cost, but also identified several specific opportunities for further Project optimization. These are the focus areas of the DFS, as we strive to enhance the Segilola Project’s value for all of our stakeholders.”

According to the study, Thor will begin construction at the beginning of this year’s second quarter (Q2), and will continue for the next 18 months.

The Segilola Gold Project will require investment of $87 million, which is scheduled to be recoverable in around 1.5 years, and will create over 2.5 tons of gold on an annual basis in the five year lifespan of the mine. The estimated net present value of the project is at $138 million and it will likely leverage from the excellent sensitivity of gold prices due to the current geopolitical environment.

Thor Explorations, a Vancouver-based company, has finished an Independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (IPEA) for an underground extension. This particular project is going to last for three years and will be used to supplement production in sync with the mining operations.

The proposed underground project will require an additional investment of $13 million and is projected to produce 1.03 tons of gold per annum. The Canadian company acquired license for its operations in Segilola in August 2016, but subsequently renewed its mining license for an additional 25 years only 90 days later. Segilola is situated around 120 kilometers from Lagos, a city in Nigeria.

After carrying out an initial prefeasibility study (PFS) in October 2017, Thor Explorations spent a significant portion of its time in 2018 carrying out the definitive feasibility work and undertaking predevelopment work streams to optimize the project.

The company, which is based in Vancouver, first gained mainstream attention in February last 2018 by the investment and mining community after winning its Investing Mining Indaba 2018 competition, and it gained recognition as potentially the most profitable emerging mining company among 22 similar juniors who performed in the competition.

The company has a diverse portfolio of projects, and is currently engaged in two separate projects, one in Douta, which is South East of Senegal, and Hounde, located towards the West of Burkina Faso.

Thor Explorations is strongly supported by the local governmental bodies which envision a strong growth of their mining industry. The Nigerian government is also offering an attractive fiscal incentive program to provide support to the company in order to help develop the country’s fledgling mineral resources industry.

The Segilola Gold Project is 100 percent owned by Thor Explorations and conforms to its 25 year Mining License called ML41 and has approved Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).