Vancouver — In a move that’s becoming more common among mining companies, Tournigan Gold (TVC-V, TVCZF-O) plans to reorganize into two companies, based on commodities, eyeing better market valuation of its assets.
The proposed manoeuvre will see the European-focused mineral explorer spin out its precious metals assets into a new company while it advances the Kuriskova uranium project in eastern Slovakia.
Tournigan’s Kremnica and Curraghinalt advanced-stage gold projects, in Slovakia and Northern Ireland, respectively, will form the principal assets in the new public company, which will have a separate management team.
Subject to Canadian tax rulings, plus regulatory and court approvals, the company will put the proposal to a shareholder vote around October.
Tournigan recently tabled a revised resource estimate for Kuriskova that almost tripled the previous contained uranium tally to about 9 million inferred tonnes grading 0.255% U3O8 (50.5 million contained lbs. U3O8) in three zones on the deposit using a 0.035% U3O8 cutoff grade.
Most of the mineralization is hosted in a higher-grade portion of the Main zone containing 3.6 million tonnes of 0.49% U3O8.
The company expects to complete a new preliminary assessment on its flagship uranium project by April 2008.
Kuriskova is in a belt of stratabound uranium and molybdenum deposits hosted by a suite of Permian-aged metavolcanics and metasediments.
The Kremnica gold project is a past-producer with recorded production of more than 1.5 million oz. gold. A mid-2006 resource estimate tabled 18.8 million measured and indicated tonnes averaging 1.6 grams gold per tonne and 12.8 grams silver (about 959,000 contained ounces gold and 7.7 million oz. silver). An additional 6.4 million inferred tonnes grading 1.3 grams gold and 7.4 grams silver was also reviewed.
Prefeasibility and environmental studies on Kremnica are under way.
Curraghinalt is an advanced-stage gold project that Tournigan acquired in early 2003. It has seen over 17,000 metres of drilling and about 700 metres of underground development conducted in the 1980s and ’90s.
An inferred resource of 528,000 tonnes at 15.5 grams gold (about 262,000 contained ounces gold) was estimated in early 2005. Exploration plans on the Irish deposit include infill and stepout drilling to both expand and upgrade the resource.
Tournigan has also optioned a Nevada gold property and holds other uranium projects in Slovakia and the southwestern U.S.
The company trades in a 52-week range of $1.20-$4.43.
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