Vancouver – In a move seeing increasing prominence amongst mining companies Tournigan Gold (TVC-V, TVCZF-O) plans to reorganize into two companies, based on commodities, eyeing better market valuation of its asset base.
The proposed maneuver 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.
Tournigans Kremnica and Curraghinalt advanced-stage gold projects, in Slovakia and Northern Ireland respectively, will form the principal assets in the planned new public company that will have its own separate management group.
Subject to Canadian tax rulings, regulatory and court approvals the company will look to put the proposal to a shareholder vote anticipated around October 2007.
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) within three zones on the deposit using a 0.035% U3O8 cut-off grade.
Most 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, also located in the Slovak Republic, 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 per tonne (about 959,000 contained oz. 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.
Tournigan is in the midst of prefeasibility and environmental studies on Kremnica.
Curraghinalt is an advanced-stage gold project in Northern Ireland 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 oz. gold) was estimated in early 2005. Exploration plans on the Irish deposit include infill and step-out drilling to both expand and upgrade the resource.
Tournigan has also optioned a Nevada gold property and holds additional uranium projects in Slovakia and the southwestern U.S.
Shares of Tournigan perked up 20 on the May 28th project spin-out news, closing at $4.00 apiece. With its 116.2-million shares outstanding, the company posts a $465-million market capitalization and has a 52-week trading range of $1.20-to-$4.43.
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