Thor Explorations, An Emerging West African Gold Producer To Watch

• Thor Explorations is a West Africa-focused gold producer with its first mine in Nigeria.
• The company aims to produce between 95,000 and 100,000 ounces of gold this year.
• It has a second project in Senegal that is being advanced through exploration.
• Thor's unique strategies, like using compressed natural gas for energy and focusing on gravity recovery, have helped manage costs.
• The company plans to extend the mine life beyond its initial five and a half years through exploration, particularly underground drilling, to supplement open-pit production and generate more cash flow.

About Thor Explorations

Thor Explorations Ltd. (TSXV: THX) is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on building shareholder value through acquiring, exploring and developing quality mineral properties in West Africa. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and has been listed on the TSX Venture Exchange since September 2009.

Interview with President & CEO, Segun Lawson

Ramping Up Production At Flagship Asset In Nigeria

Earlier this year, Thor Explorations completed construction and began production at its flagship Segilola open-pit gold mine located in Osun State, Nigeria. The mine is expected to produce between 95,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold per year at all-in sustaining costs of $850-950 per ounce.

As CEO Shagan Kasha explained, "We poured first gold in July last year and then obviously it had the ramp up couple of teething issues but since December last year we've been producing commercially."

After a successful first quarter of hitting its production numbers, Thor Explorations has seen improvements quarter-on-quarter. Kasha noted, "We should hopefully end up at the upper end of our guidance which is between 95 and 100,000 ounces this year."

Managing Costs Through Strategic Moves

In the current inflationary environment that has driven costs upwards across the mining industry, Thor Explorations has managed to contain costs through some key strategic moves.

According to Kasha, "Our mine is quite unique in a number of ways. In Nigeria, you have a lot of compressed natural gas which is an alternative source of fuel. We switched from diesel to compressed natural gas that brings our costs down in terms of energy prices."

Additionally, with about 70% gravity recoverable gold, the company has been able to significantly reduce reagents costs. The mine's whole body leaching has also optimized recoveries.

Furthermore, Thor has mitigated volatility by purchasing larger volumes of ammonium nitrate and spare parts well in advance. As Kasha explained, "We've been purchasing ammonium nitrate and spare parts in you know larger volumes, seven months in advance just to avoid the volatility in that seven months of the price shocks."

Extending Mine Life Through Exploration

Currently, Thor Explorations has a 5.5 year life of mine at Segilola. A key priority is to extend this through exploration and increase reserves and resources.

An initial 7,000 meter drill program is underway focused on extending known high grade mineralization underground beyond the current 280 meters depth. According to Kasha, "The 3000 meter program is dedicated to going underneath the pit and extending the underground. We've only drilled down to about 280 meters we have identified a number of high grade shoots."

Early results have been promising with grades significantly above the average reserve grade. Kasha emphasized, "The grade for the existing underground resource is around about seven grams. The highest grade intersections that we we're drilling in the underground and some of the shoots about four and a half meters wide at 18 grams per ton."

With strong cash flows from production, Thor Explorations is well positioned to fund an aggressive ongoing exploration program. The goal is to extend mine life to 10 years in the near term.

Advancing The Exciting Douta Project in Senegal

In addition to the Segilola mine in Nigeria, Thor Explorations is advancing it's Douta Gold Project located in southeastern Senegal. The early stage project has an initial inferred resource of 730,000 ounces grading 1.5 g/t.

Recent drilling has intercepted high grade mineralization including 13 g/t over 8 meters. Kasha noted, "We noticed in that program there were a number of high grade structures within the resource which we felt if we drilled around and we've got some grade we could pick up the answers and the grade. It's been very successful so far."

While many miners have delayed advancing early stage projects due to inflation concerns, Thor Explorations is eager to move Douta forward. Kasha explained, "Where we're a growth company we are generating 100,000 ounces in Nigeria annually we think back of the envelope we can do something similar in Senegal."

He emphasized, "Our aim is to increase our production. Our aim is to continue the growth of the company. We believe it's beneficial doing it diversifying ourselves by jurisdiction also diversifying our production profile."

Management Alignment and Unlocking Value

Despite Thor Explorations expected production of close to 100,000 ounces of gold annually, the company still trades a market valuation of under $200 million.

As Kasha acknowledged, "First of all it speaks about the market and the sector as a whole everyone's going through it, under valuation. But secondly you know we're also a new name building a first or should I say having built a first of this kind project in a jurisdiction where it's never happened before."

However, with a management team closely aligned with shareholders, the focus remains on execution. As Kasha emphasized, "I'm aligned with shareholders, we have absolutely no intention of raising any dilutive equity."

He added, "We believe we can self-fund this, we believe now we're generating very strong cash flow out of Nigeria, getting leverage to build a project is very realistic as well."

As Thor Explorations continues to execute on production growth and exploration success, unlocking value for investors is expected. Now could be the right time for investors to gain exposure to this emerging West African producer before it gets rerated to its fair valuation.

5 Key Takeaways

1. Ramping up production at flagship Segilola mine in Nigeria - on track for 95,000-100,000 oz in 2023.
2. Managing costs successfully through strategic moves like switching to natural gas power.
3. Exploration underway to extend Segilola mine life beyond 5.5 years - high grade results so far.
4. Advancing early-stage Douta project in Senegal - potential for second mine.
5. Management closely aligned with shareholders and focused on production growth and exploration success to drive value.

Conclusion

For investors seeking new high quality gold production growth stories, Thor Explorations warrants a closer look. As the company ramps up the Segilola mine, unlocks exploration upside and advances an exciting second project in Senegal, the potential is strong. Trading at a fraction of comparable gold producers, Thor Explorations has upside for early investors as management continues to deliver results.

So be sure to add Thor Explorations to your watchlist today. As the company hits key production and exploration milestones in the year ahead, a potential rerating could be built. Stay ahead of the crowd by keeping a close eye on this gold producer in one of the most prospective regions in the world