No recommendation
No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. Hargreaves Lansdown may not share ShareCast's (powered by Digital Look) views.
(Sharecast News) - Thor Explorations reported steady first-quarter production at its Segilola gold mine in Nigeria and maintained full-year guidance on Wednesday, supported by a strong cash position and ongoing exploration activity across its West African portfolio.
Gold poured during the three months to 31 March totalled 20,256 ounces, with 15,417 ounces sold at an average realised price of $4,829 per ounce.
The AIM-traded company ended the quarter with cash of $154m and gold bullion inventory of 4,000 ounces, resulting in an adjusted net cash position of $173m.
Gold dor inventory stood at 2,077 ounces.
Operationally, Segilola processed 239,664 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.54 grams per tonne, achieving plant recoveries of 93.1%.
Mining output totalled 459,246 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.58 grams per tonne, containing 23,397 ounces of gold.
The ore stockpile increased by 3,844 ounces to 54,057 ounces at an average grade of 0.76 grams per tonne, while gold in circuit decreased by 2,533 ounces to 3,069 ounces.
Thor maintained its full-year 2026 production guidance of 75,000 to 85,000 ounces of gold and all-in sustaining cost guidance of $1,000 to $1,200 per ounce.
The firm said it also continued to advance drilling programmes aimed at extending mine life at Segilola and expanding resources across its exploration assets in Nigeria, Senegal and Cte d'Ivoire.
"Having completed an operationally robust year in 2025, during which we achieved record gold production and record profitability, we are pleased to keep up the momentum at the start of the year with a strong first quarter of 2026," said president and chief executive Segun Lawson.
"Pouring just over 20,000 ounces is in line with the mid-range of our production guidance of 75,000 to 85,000 ounces for the year."
He added that the company's focus at Segilola during the quarter was on extending mine life.
"Our drilling activities continue underneath the pit, where we continue to intersect mineable gold mineralisation.
"Our drilling activities will continue throughout the year with the aim of drilling and delineating sufficient ore tonnage to proceed with underground mine development."
In Senegal, Lawson said exploration activity had increased following completion of the Douta preliminary feasibility study, with the company seeking to optimise the project and identify additional resources ahead of a final investment decision targeted for the second half of 2026.
He also highlighted ongoing drilling programmes in Cte d'Ivoire, with results from both jurisdictions expected in the second quarter.
"We ended the quarter with a healthy cash balance of $154m and 4,000 ounces of unsold gold bullion, which we have agreed to sell in the second quarter of 2026.
"We continue to grow our balance sheet whilst managing to keep in line with our cost guidance," Lawson said.
At 1102 BST, shares in Thor Explorations were down 2.47% at 79p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
See latest RNS on Investegate