Managing director Paul Lock said Khao Soon provides shareholders with meaningful exposure to an advanced and strategically positioned tungsten exploration asset. The exploration target is defined by drilling and surface soil sampling, with conservative vertical depths of 120 metres below surface. Mineralisation remains open laterally and at depth across five prospects. The largest prospect, Than Pho West, has an exploration target of nine million to 14 million tonnes grading 0.2 to 0.3 per cent tungsten, while Last Hill has five million to 10 million tonnes at 0.2 to 0.4 per cent.
The project has a history as a significant underground tungsten mine for a decade until 1980. Flagship said a divestment or partnership could generate non-dilutionary capital for its priority Isidora gold project in Chile and the recently acquired Whipsaw copper project in Canada. The company recently sold its Reung Kiet lithium project in southern Thailand for US$4 million, or about A$5.7 million, in cash.
The timing coincides with a heated tungsten market. Recent Chinese export restrictions have helped push prices from US$300 per metric tonne unit, where one MTU equals 10 kilograms, to as high as US$3800 per MTU in just over 18 months, with prices near record highs.