Thor Energy Plc (LON:THR, ASX: THR, OTCQB: THORF) has announced the successful, safe and on-budget completion of its Phase-2 Geochemistry survey at the company’s 80.2%-owned HY-Range natural hydrogen exploration project, within Regulated Substance Exploration Licence (RSEL) 802, South Australia.
Highlights:
· Survey Completion: The extensive sampling programme successfully concluded following a rigorous three-month test period.
· Building on Discovery: The survey was specifically designed to build upon the outstanding data results and innovative techniques developed during the Phase 1 survey in May 2025, which recorded highly elevated natural hydrogen up to 3,000 ppm1, or approximately 6000 times the normal background value, along with helium anomalies.
· Core Objectives Achieved: The campaign successfully fulfilled all its primary design goals:
1. Targeted Infill: adding exploration knowledge by increasing coverage of Phase-1 low coverage areas and enhancing density in Thor’s high focus exploration areas, with results confirming Phase-1 outcomes.
2. Robust Sampling: removing the risk that results could be explained as anthropogenic (man-made) sample contamination, rather than authentic natural hydrogen, was imperative. Learning from and evolving Phase-1 techniques, Thor and its contractor, SGS, developed rigorous sampling methodologies to deliver robust data acquisition and confidence in Phase-1 and Phase-2 results.
3. Technique Evolution: Evolving and innovating through the planning and execution of Phase-2 to refine acquisition and sampling processes for future programmes.
Follow-up news: The preliminary analysis of the acquired survey data is currently underway, with the Company expecting to announce the results to shareholders in the coming weeks.
Andrew Hume, Managing Director of Thor Energy, commented:
“We are delighted to report the highly successful completion of our phase-2 geochemistry survey at the HY-Range Project, safely and on-budget. Following the exceptional natural hydrogen and helium readings recorded in May 2025, it was imperative that we further evolve our techniques to ensure that sampling is as robust as possible. This required us to add new locations to expand coverage and deliver further resolutions to focus areas. We have successfully delivered all our goals, effectively eliminating the risk of man-made contamination, refining our techniques and optimising increased data volume and fidelity.
“We are currently undertaking preliminary analysis of the data and look forward to sharing these results with the market as we continue to aggressively advance the HY-Range Project.”
Operations Overview
Phase 2 geochemistry operations commenced with the installation of sample holes across targeted areas of the RSEL 802 licence. Over a subsequent three-month period, samples were systematically extracted and analysed, without fears of potential contamination. The programme was conducted rigorously, safely, and entirely on budget, fulfilling all operational and technical objectives.
This survey marks a critical evolution in Thor’s exploration maturity at HY-Range. During the Phase 1 survey of May 2025, Thor identified excellent natural hydrogen readings, locally exceeding 1,000ppm in several locations and peaking at 3,000ppm. Whilst soil gas sampling carries inherent risks of anthropogenic (man-made) contamination, Phase-2 was explicitly designed to mitigate this risk and deliver robust sampling to increased data coverage and sample density.
With the field acquisition phase now successfully completed, Thor’s technical team is conducting preliminary analysis of the results to further refine subsurface models of hydrogen and helium generation, migration, and trapping. Results of the survey will be announced once data reduction and preliminary analysis are complete.
Concurrently, Thor Energy is in the final stages of tendering for a 2D exploration seismic survey, which will deliver the first-of-its-kind data over the most prospective parts of RSEL-802. The survey is planned for later this year, with the results expected to provide the data necessary to integrate our geochemical and geophysical analysis and lead to the location and planning of subsequent exploration wells.
