Full Breakdown
Flagship Minerals Targets Major Tungsten Deposit in Southern Thailand
By Drooid · · How we work
Project Overview
Flagship Minerals has announced a JORC-compliant exploration target for its wholly-owned Khao Soon project in southern Thailand. The target comprises 22 to 40 million tonnes grading 0.15 to 0.30 percent tungsten, split across five prospects. The largest, Than Pho West, is estimated at 9 to 14 million tonnes at 0.20 to 0.30 percent tungsten, while the Last Hill prospect adds 5 to 10 million tonnes at 0.20 to 0.40 percent. Recent drilling has returned near-surface intercepts of 51.2 metres at 0.50 percent tungsten trioxide and 34 metres at 0.63 percent, both starting from surface. Historically, the Khao Soon area operated as an underground tungsten mine from the 1970s until 1980, with historic ore grades of 5 to 12 percent reported by a 1974 United States Geological Survey study.
Strategic Context
The announcement arrives as global tungsten prices have surged from roughly US$300 per metric tonne unit (MTU) to as high as US$3,800 per MTU over the past 18 months, driven in part by recent Chinese export restrictions. Flagship, whose primary focus remains gold and copper projects in the Americas, recently divested its Reung Kiet lithium project in Thailand for US$4 million (A$5.7 million) and acquired the Whipsaw copper project in British Columbia for A$6.5 million. The company views Khao Soon as a non-core asset that could generate non-dilutive capital to fund its priority Isidora gold project in Chile and the newly acquired Whipsaw copper project.
Options for Monetising the Asset
Flagship is evaluating three pathways to unlock value from Khao Soon: a full sale to a strategic buyer, a spin-out into a dedicated listed vehicle, or a joint-venture partnership with a larger industry player. Each option aims to convert the exploration target into cash or equity that can be redeployed toward the company’s core gold and copper pipeline.
Official Statements & Responses
Flagship has reiterated that its core copper and gold interests remain in North and South America. The firm highlighted the proximity of Whipsaw to Hudbay Minerals’ 345-million-tonne Copper Mountain operation, suggesting a potential copper-focused spin-out could attract market attention. Management also noted that capital raised from Khao Soon could accelerate exploration at the Isidora gold deposit, which currently holds a 2.1-million-ounce gold resource.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Khao Soon provides Flagship’s shareholders with meaningful exposure to an advanced and strategically positioned tungsten exploration asset in a price environment which suggests that securing such a strategic industrial input is difficult – to say the least – and therefore assets such as Khao Soon are becoming increasingly valuable.” — Flagship — Flagship
