Sonoro Gold Corp. (TSXV: SGO | OTCQB: SMOFF | FRA:
23SP) (“Sonoro” or the “Company”) is pleased to report assay
results from the final seven drill holes, completing the Phase IV
drilling program at its Cerro Caliche gold project in Sonora,
Mexico. In total, the Company completed over 7,200 meters of
reverse circulation drilling with 63 drill holes which returned
multiple higher-grade gold intercepts and demonstrated the
expansion of several known mineralized gold zones within the Cerro
Caliche concession.
The objective of the program was to increase the
estimated size and grade of the project’s oxide gold
mineralization, as well as to extend the estimated life of a
proposed heap leach mining operation as outlined in the Preliminary
Economic Assessment (“PEA”) and updated Mineral Resource Estimate
filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR on October 29, 2021.
On May 9, 2022, the Company announced positive
results of an updated PEA based on an optimized mine plan to
potentially increase the project’s previously reported economic
parameters. The updated report was based on the same mineral
resource estimate contained in the Company’s initial PEA and did
not include the new geological data from the Phase IV campaign.
Drilling results from the now completed Phase IV
campaign will be included in an updated resource estimation
scheduled to be announced in the fall of 2022. The economic impact
of the updated resource on the proposed heap leach mining operation
is also to be assessed and will be contemplated in a further
technical report.
Mel Herdrick, Sonoro’s VP Exploration,
commented, "Phase four has been a successful drilling campaign with
continued reporting of mineralized extensions and higher-grade
intercepts. As the project continues to move through the current
permitting phase, the objective of the exploration team now is to
refine our understanding of the new extensions and higher-grade
zones, as well as the potential impact of the new drilling data on
the project’s resource."
Kenneth MacLeod, Sonoro’s President and CEO,
added, “The completion of the drilling program is another important
milestone in the development of Cerro Caliche. Last month we
announced the positive results of an updated PEA and are currently
assessing the potential economic impact of the new drilling data on
the proposed heap leach mining operation. An updated resource
estimation is expected to be filed this fall and we will continue
to work on securing project financing and moving the project
forward.”
John Darch, Sonoro's Chairman, noted, “With
regards to the successful completion of the drilling program, the
Board would like to specifically commend the efforts of our
exploration team in Mexico, most notably VP of Exploration Mel
Herdrick, VP of Operations Jorge Diaz and Chief Geologist Oscar
Gonzalez. These individuals have been instrumental in the success
of Cerro Caliche’s exploration and development programs.”
Final Drilling ResultsThe
results announced in this news release reflect drilling activity
conducted at the Abejas gold mineralized zone located at the
eastern perimeter of the Central Pit Zone, with the reported
intercepts situated outside of the pit shell used to calculate the
mineral resource estimate in the initial PEA.
Highlights are as follows:
- SCR-321 intercepted 15.24m averaging 1.336 g/t Au; including
4.57m averaging 3.657 g/t Au;
- SCR-322 intercepted 18.29m averaging 0.785 g/t Au; including
1.52m averaging 4.88 g/t Au.
The map below illustrates the location of the
drill holes.
Figure 1: Drill holes at Abejas
https://sonorogold.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/20220612-Abejas-Drill-Map.png
Abejas
Mineralized ZoneThe Abejas zone
is in the most eastern part of the property’s main body of gold
mineralization where seven drill holes demonstrated an approximate
30-meter southernly extension outside of the estimated resource pit
shell. Three of the seven drill holes also returned higher-grade
intercepts, including drill hole SCR-321 which intercepted 15.24
meters averaging 1.336 grams of gold per tonne (“g/t Au”),
including 4.57 meters averaging 3.657 g/t Au and drill hole SCR-322
which intercepted 18.29 meters averaging 0.785 g/t Au, including
1.52 meters averaging 4.880 g/t Au.
The Abejas extension is terminated by a
northeasterly trending fault that continues southwesterly to offset
the Los Cuervos mineralization. Further detailed work around the
faulted Abejas zone could determine the same relationship with
possible additional targets.
Both drill holes SCR-321 and SCR-322 correlate
with other plotted vein projections intersected further north and
the geology of the Abejas zone is similar to the Japoneses gold
mineralized zone with most rock drilled being Jurassic-Cretaceous
metasedimentary quartzite, shale and local limestone beds.
Structures with quartz vein fillings cross with the normal
northwest orientation and are part of the wider zone of sheeted
gold mineralized veins.
The Abejas zone is about 600 meters long and is
traced further northwesterly to join the Veta del Oro zone which
has a long, well-defined vein zone with higher gold and silver
grades. Anomalous silver content is also present in the results
with 24.9 grams per tonne intercepted in drill-hole SCR-321 between
depths of 9.14 and 10.67 meters. Lead is also anomalous with gold
but in broader anomalies. Silicification is common in the area,
especially close to the vein zones.
The table below provides the assay results for
the complete list of reported drill holes. Vein intersections
appear to be near true widths reported from assay intervals. Drill
holes cross the veins with 45-degree inclination, while veins
appear to have dips around 50 to 60 degrees.
Cerro Caliche Project, Holes Composites with Cut-off 0.15
g/t Au |
Hole |
Target |
|
From |
To |
Interval |
Au |
Ag |
AuEq |
Meters |
g/t |
g/t |
g/t |
SCR-321 |
Abejas |
|
0.00 |
15.24 |
15.24 |
1.336 |
8.80 |
1.376 |
including |
6.10 |
10.67 |
4.57 |
3.657 |
15.40 |
3.727 |
and |
21.34 |
27.43 |
6.09 |
0.510 |
0.40 |
0.512 |
and |
36.58 |
45.72 |
9.14 |
0.216 |
1.60 |
0.224 |
and |
53.34 |
54.86 |
1.52 |
1.110 |
0.80 |
1.114 |
and |
88.39 |
92.96 |
4.57 |
0.348 |
1.80 |
0.356 |
SCR-322 |
Abejas |
|
9.14 |
16.76 |
7.62 |
0.374 |
1.50 |
0.381 |
and |
27.43 |
45.72 |
18.29 |
0.785 |
5.40 |
0.810 |
including |
41.15 |
42.67 |
1.52 |
4.880 |
19.70 |
4.970 |
SCR-323 |
Abejas |
No Significant Values |
SCR-324 |
Abejas |
|
0.00 |
16.76 |
16.76 |
0.256 |
2.40 |
0.267 |
SCR-325 |
Abejas |
|
0.00 |
6.10 |
6.10 |
0.183 |
0.70 |
0.186 |
and |
12.19 |
21.34 |
9.15 |
0.414 |
0.20 |
0.415 |
including |
13.72 |
15.24 |
1.52 |
1.290 |
0.30 |
1.291 |
and |
38.10 |
50.29 |
12.19 |
0.460 |
3.80 |
0.477 |
including |
44.20 |
45.72 |
1.52 |
1.570 |
12.90 |
1.629 |
SCR-326 |
Abejas |
|
4.57 |
9.14 |
4.57 |
0.304 |
4.10 |
0.323 |
SCR-327 |
Abejas |
No Significant Values |
Drill collar locations, azimuths and dips for
the drill holes included are provided in the table below.
Drill Collar Locations (NAD 1927 UTM Zone
12N) |
Drill Hole |
Zone |
Easting |
Northing |
Elevation |
Depth (m) |
Dip |
Azimuth |
SCR-321 |
Abejas |
537,318 |
3,365,337 |
1,362 |
109.73 |
-45 |
221 |
SCR-322 |
Abejas |
537,253 |
3,365,300 |
1,359 |
70.10 |
-45 |
236 |
SCR-323 |
Abejas |
537,376 |
3,365,331 |
1,347 |
70.10 |
-45 |
234 |
SCR-324 |
Abejas |
537,335 |
3,365,300 |
1,349 |
70.10 |
-45 |
236 |
SCR-325 |
Abejas |
537,293 |
3,365,279 |
1,347 |
70.10 |
-45 |
237 |
SCR-326 |
Abejas |
537,322 |
3,365,251 |
1,337 |
70.10 |
-45 |
234 |
SCR-327 |
Abejas |
537,328 |
3,365,251 |
1,337 |
70.10 |
-77 |
236 |
Phase IV Drilling Program
In November 2021, the Company announced it had
resumed drilling with the objective of increasing the estimated
size and grade of the project’s oxide gold mineralization. An
independent PEA completed on the Cerro Caliche project demonstrated
a potentially viable seven-year open pit, heap leach mining
operation with a production capacity of up to 15,000 tonnes per
day. An increase in the size and grade of the project’s resource
may not only extend the life of the proposed operation but may also
improve the overall economics of the project.
The Phase IV drilling program was designed to
potentially expand known mineralized zones, including zones
excluded from the mineral resource estimate due to lack of required
drilling density. The program also drilled potential higher-grade
targets identified by a surface sampling program completed in the
summer of 2021.
The map below illustrates the location of drill
holes completed during the Phase IV drilling program.
Figure 2: Drill holes at Cerro Caliche
https://sonorogold.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/20220607-Drilling-Program-Map.png
El Colorado
Mineralized Gold
ZoneDrilling completed at El Colorado provided the
Company with an improved structural understanding of the complexity
of the mineralized zone, including higher-grade blind (lack of
surface exposure) structures or shoots. While the zone is complexly
faulted and veined, the additional drill holes completed during the
Phase IV program began to reveal coherent high-grade gold bearing
veins, as well as anastomosing veins diverging and branching from
zone’s main veins.
Collectively, these suggest an increased
potential for a higher-grade open pit which, if confirmed, may also
potentially increase the average gold content of the entire
mineralized zone.
As previously announced, drilling completed at
El Colorado returned multiple higher-grade gold intercepts within
larger intervals of high-grade gold mineralization including drill
hole SCR-286 which intercepted high-grade gold mineralization at
the deepest level of El Colorado’s epithermal system drilled to
date.
Near the bottom of the hole, a 27.43-meter
intercept averaged 5.36 g/t Au, including 4.57 meters averaging
7.16 g/t Au, and 4.57 meters of 22.09 g/t Au, including 1.53 meters
averaging 46.5 g/t Au and 1.52 meters averaging 3.25 g/t Au.
Figure 3: Interpretive Cross Section at El
Colorado
https://sonorogold.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022.05.16_-Cross-Section-El-Colorado.png
A total of 20 additional drill holes were
completed outside of the estimated resource pit shell used to
calculate the zone’s gold resource. As previously announced, five
drill holes demonstrated an expansion of approximately 30 meters
along the northwestern side of the estimated resource pit
shell.
Oxidized mineralized material is present
throughout El Colorado with no significant sulfide minerals
present. The geology is a mixture of silicified meta-sedimentary
units intruded by a silicified and argillic altered quartz porphyry
igneous body and, in deeper parts, granodiorite with dioritic to
andesitic dikes. The mineralized structures trending north 10 west
and dipping northeasterly cross the zone extending southerly from
the Cabeza Blanca quartz veins.
Guadalupe Mineralized
Gold ZoneLocated to the north of El Colorado, and parallel
to the Cabeza Blanca mineralized gold zone, Guadalupe was excluded
from the updated mineral resource estimate due to its lack of
sufficient drilling density.
Drilling completed at Guadalupe during Phase IV
returned intercepts of higher-grade gold vein material at depth,
including previously announced drill hole SCR-280 which intercepted
3.05 meters averaging 19.56 g/t Au, including 1.53 meters averaging
37.90 g/t Au. The higher-grade zone’s repetitive character likely
is due to a higher degree of shearing at the footwall of the
Guadalupe vein structure.
Figure 4: Drill holes at El Rincón
https://sonorogold.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022.05.16_Drill-holes-at-El-Rincon.png
The footwall shows stronger shear character,
including mylonitic vein textures locally, and suggests the
potential for development and further exploration in areas to the
west where numerous veins are present. Guadalupe’s entire
structural zone may be permissive over more than 100 meters
width.
Buena Suerte Mineralized Gold
Zone Buena Suerte is approximately 300 meters east of El
Colorado and drilling completed during Phase IV extended the Buena
Suerte vein system to the southwest and potentially increased the
zone’s estimated resource. Mineralization was shown to extend
further south another 500 meters, but additional drilling is
required to follow the vein zones located beneath a cover of thick
soils and colluvium.
As previously reported, drill hole SCR-318
returned elevated gold content of 1.52 meters averaging 9.57 g/t Au
and 28.95 meters averaging 1.021 g/t Au, including 1.53 meters
averaging 2.07 g/t Au. The potential of the mineralization
connecting to other high grade drill intercepts further north
requires additional investigation.
El Rincón
Mineralized Gold ZoneDrilling completed between
two separate pit shells at El Rincón confirmed continuation of
mineralization between the resource segments along a rhyolitic
dike. A total of 6 drill holes were completed during the Phase IV
campaign over approximately one kilometer of strike length. As
previously announced, SCR-304 intercepted 1.52 meters averaging
2.49 g/t Au and drill hole SCR-305 intercepted 36.5 meters
averaging 0.535 g/t Au, including 1.53 meters averaging 3.59 g/t Au
and 1.53 meters averaging 3.32 g/t Au.
Much of the gold and higher-grade silver is
dispersed well into the dike. The structure's trend is azimuth 310
with dip of 85 northwest to vertical. This vein structure cuts both
rhyolitic dikes and sills and bedded meta-sedimentary rocks with
gold-silver mineralization occurring in both rock types. The El
Rincón vein zones are generally parallel to, or along, the rhyolite
dike margins.
La Española Mineralized
Gold ZoneAnother area excluded from the
Mineral Resource Estimate was La Española, located in the southeast
region of the property. Southeast of El Rincón, the mineralization
of La Española is also localized in rhyolitic dike. Six scout drill
holes completed during Phase IV suggest lower grade mineralization
in the northward extension of the vein zone.
To date, the Company has completed over 41,800
meters of drilling at Cerro Caliche and, with the inclusion of data
from prior operators, accumulated a database of almost 55,000
meters of geological data on the project, including multiple
high-grade gold intercepts as well as broad zones of stockwork and
disseminated material. Geological data from the Phase IV drilling
campaign will be included in an updated resource estimate scheduled
to be filed in fall 2022.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
(“QA/QC”)
Measures and Analytical Procedures
Drill samples are collected with an airstream
cyclone and passed into a splitter that divides each sample into
quarters. The quartered samples are then bagged and sealed with
identification. The sample group has blanks, standards and
duplicates inserted into the sample stream.
ALS-Chemex collects the samples and transports
them directly to the preparation laboratory in Hermosillo, Sonora.
At the laboratory, part of each sample is reduced through crushing,
splitting and pulverization from which 200 grams is sent to the
ALS-Chemex assay laboratory in Vancouver. Thirty grams undergoes
fire assay for gold with the resulting concentrated button of
material produced is dissolved in acids and the gold is determined
by atomic absorption. Another quantity of the sample is dissolved
in four acids for an ICP multi-element analysis.
No QA/QC issues were noted with the results
received from the laboratory.
Geologic DescriptionCerro
Caliche is located 45 kilometers east southeast of Magdalena de
Kino in the Cucurpe-Sonora Mega-district of Sonora, Mexico.
Multiple historic underground mines were developed in the
concession, including Cabeza Blanca, Los Cuervos, Japoneses, Las
Abejas, Boluditos, El Colorado, Veta de Oro and Espanola.
Mineralization types of the Cucurpe-Sonora Mega-district include
variants of epithermal low sulfidation veins and related
mineralized dikes and associated volcanic domes. Local altered and
mineralized felsic dikes cut the mineralized meta-sedimentary rock
units and may be associated with mineralization both in the dikes
and meta-sedimentary rocks.
Qualified Person
StatementStephen Kenwood, P.Geo., a Director of Sonoro, is
a Qualified Person within the context of National Instrument 43-101
(NI 43-101) and has read and approved this news release. Readers
are cautioned that the presence of mineralization on historic mines
adjacent to or on Cerro Caliche is not necessarily indicative of
economic gold mineralization in the concessions held by the
Company.
About Sonoro
Gold Corp.Sonoro Gold Corp. is a publicly listed
exploration and development Company holding the
near-development-stage Cerro Caliche project and the
exploration-stage San Marcial project in Sonora State, Mexico. The
Company has highly experienced operational and management teams
with proven track records for the discovery and development of
natural resource deposits.
On behalf of the Board of Sonoro Gold Corp.Per:
“Kenneth
MacLeod” Kenneth
MacLeod President
& CEO
For further information, please contact: Sonoro Gold Corp. -
Tel: (604) 632-1764 Email: info@sonorogold.com
This press release may contain "forward-looking
information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities
legislation. All statements other than statements of historical
fact, included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding the Cerro Caliche project, and future plans
and objectives of the Company, constitute forward looking
information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although
the Company believes that such statements are reasonable based on
current circumstances, it can give no assurance that such
expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements
are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally,
but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans",
"anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects",
"aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective" and similar
expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may",
"can”, "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which,
by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that
forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and
opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are
made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties,
including the possibility of unfavorable exploration and test
results, the lack of sufficient future financing to carry out
exploration and development plans and unanticipated changes in the
legal, regulatory and permitting requirements for the Company’s
exploration programs. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by law or the policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange. Readers are encouraged to review the Company’s complete
public disclosure record on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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