HIGHLIGHTS: . Expansion of exploration emphasis to include gold . Other exploration acquisitions under active consideration . Company to acquire new gold asset - Dundas - in highly regarded but under-explored Albany-Fraser Province ("Tropicana Belt") on extension of the gold rich Wiluna-Kalgoorlie-Norseman greenstone belt. . Province is host to >5million oz Tropicana deposit to northeast of Dundas and Sipa Resources Socrates project . Dundas a greenfields project at a time of high gold price & demand . Acquisition will follow successful capital raising in January via placement . New strategy aims for restructured portfolio of mainstream commodities 8888000 Maiden interstate expansion marks new exploration and growth strategy The Directors of Thor Mining PLC ("Thor" or the "Company") (AIM, ASX: THR) advise that the Company has embarked on an expanded exploration and acquisition strategy - focused initially on Western Australia - with an emphasis on new mainstream commodity opportunities in addition to Thor's historic portfolio of projects in the Northern Territory. Implementation of the strategy has commenced with Thor's acquisition of the Dundas gold exploration project in the broader Norseman area southeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

A number of potential other acquisitions, focussing primarily on gold, in addition to Dundas are currently under review. The change in exploration focus and asset mix in 2010 follows an internal review late last year.

That identified the need for a new exploration direction for Thor as current global demand, depressed forward prices and the strength of the Australian dollar mitigate against the near term commercial development of the Company's until now mainstay focus on the Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project off the Plenty highway, north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Company will keep the market informed of other developments as they occur. New Dundas gold project The Directors of Thor are pleased to advise that the Company has entered into a terms sheet for the staged acquisition of 3 tenements covering 340 square kilometres in the Western Australian Goldfields approximately 100 kilometres southeast of Norseman.

The tenement package comprises exploration licences E63/872, E63/1101 and E63/1102. Geologically, the project lies within the Albany-Fraser Province, an area of more than 500km x 100km situated at the south-eastern margin of WA's gold-rich Yilgarn Province. The gold potential of the Albany-Fraser Province has been revolutionised in the past 10 years by the discovery of the +5 million ounce Tropicana gold deposit and numerous other gold occurrences of economic potential.

Tropicana has been shown to be just one of a cluster of deposits and to extend for at least one kilometre down the dip of the enclosing strata or structure.

With the exception of an area surrounding the Dundas land package (Dundas Nature Reserve) which was quarantined from exploration from 1996 until late 2006, the Province is entirely controlled by significant gold mining entities such as AngloGold, Newmont, Dominion, Teck-Cominco, WA mining identity and investor, Mr Mark Creasy, and Triton Gold Limited. Until the Tropicana discovery, the Albany-Fraser Province was little explored for gold, its potential being hidden by perceived unfavourable geology, very poor outcrop, and in part, burial under younger sediments.
The Dundas project area is located within the general southerly strike extension of the most gold-rich part of the Yilgarn province, the Wiluna-Kalgoorlie-Norseman greenstone belt.

Thor Directors believe this may impart an enhanced prospectivity to the section of the Albany-Fraser Province containing the project area. In addition, the tenements are located in a part of the Albany-Fraser Province where the south-westerly grain of the Province is displaced south-eastwards by about 50km.

The overprint of a south-easterly structure appears to mimic elements of the Tropicana geology and apparently creates opportunities for dilation of the rock sequence - a structural element generally favourable for mineralisation.
A limited (forty sq km) program of surface geochemical exploration for gold conducted by BHP within EL 63/872, revealed gold anomalies comparable with those associated with gold mineralisation elsewhere in the belt.

These are therefore drill ready and untested.

The remaining 335 sq km of the Dundas land package is unexplored for gold. A more extensive program of surface geochemical sampling conducted to the north and west of EL 63/1101, revealed similar anomalies.

One of just three RAB drill holes into these anomalies reported a bottom-hole sample of 1.1 g/t gold, confirming the existence of gold mineralisation as a source of the gold anomalies, greatly increasing the prospectivity of the whole area.
The tenements lie within the Dundas Nature Reserve, to which access for mining has only recently been restored.

A consequence of this is that the area has never been explored in detail and no drilling has been conducted within the boundaries of these tenements.

Terms of the Dundas acquisition are as follows: . Initial acquisition of 51 % Interest in the tenements for A$100,000 (with completion due to occur on the second business day following the later of execution of the formal agreement and Thor obtaining any approvals required in respect of the acquisition under the Mining Act 1978 (WA)). . Option to acquire an additional 9% interest in the tenements in return for the issue to the private vendors of 45 million fully paid ordinary shares in Thor - exercisable by Thor within 5 months of the date of the formal agreement unless parties agree otherwise. . Option to acquire an additional 20% interest in the tenements in return for the issue to vendors of a further A$2 million worth of Thor fully paid shares - exercisable by Thor on or before 30 September 2012 provided Thor has expended at least A$1million on exploration of the tenements. . Thor granted the option to acquire the final 20% interest in the tenements in return for the issue of a further A$2 million equivalent in Thor fully paid shares - exercisable by Thor by the earlier of 60 days after the date Thor has expended an additional A$1million on exploration of the tenements and 30 September 2014 (provided Thor has expended a further A$1million on exploration of the tenements). . Thor to sole fund exploration and to keep tenements in good standing while it holds options to increase its equity. If Thor, for any reason, elects not to exercise an option to increase its equity in the tenements, then Thor will cease sole funding the exploration and maintenance of the tenements and the parties will form a joint venture. The vendors may then sell their interests with Thor holding first right of refusal.

In the event that the vendors do not sell their interest and are diluted to 5% joint venture interest collectively, they can elect to withdraw from the joint venture in exchange for a 1.5% net smelter return royalty.

The exercise of an option by Thor will be subject to Thor first obtaining any shareholder or other approvals required in relation to the exercise of that option.

The Directors believe that further fund raisings will be required as the Dundas Project develops and other projects are progressed. Commenting on the proposed transaction, the Chairman of Thor, Mr Mick Billing, said today "we are delighted to have been able to access this prime package of gold prospective exploration territory with significant upside and in a broader gold province well regarded in Western Australia's resources sector.

While our Molyhil tungsten/molybdenum project in the NT is on hold due to depressed metal prices, we have adopted an invigorated growth strategy based on mainstream commodities in proven mineral provinces to explore for very large gold deposits." For further information contact
Mick Billing Chairman +61 414 741 007 Competent Person's Statement The information in this report that relates to exploration results, mineral resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by Trevor Ireland, who is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

The services of Mr Ireland are engaged by Thor Mining PLC on a contractual basis.

Trevor Ireland has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Trevor Ireland consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. Forward looking statements All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this release constitute "forward looking statements".

Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and estimates and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

New factors may emerge from time to time that could cause the Company's business not to develop as it expects, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all such factors. The Company makes no undertaking to subsequently update any such forward-looking statements in this release to reflect future events or developments.
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