VANCOUVER, Canada, November 18, 2020 – Sonoro Gold Corp. (TSXV: SGO | OTCQB: SMOFF | FRA: 23SP) (“Sonoro” or the “Company”) announces that it has retained McClelland Laboratories Inc. of Sparks, Nevada to conduct independent metallurgical testing of the gold mineralization at the Cerro Caliche gold project in Sonora State, Mexico. As part of the Company’s strategy to fast-track the development of a Heap Leach Mining Operation (HLMO) at Cerro Caliche, over 5,500 kilograms of mineralized material from ten 85-mm diameter PQ core holes are being shipped to the laboratory for metallurgical testing. With continuing success from the ongoing drilling program, Sonoro’s management has expanded its development plans from the previously announced pilot level project to assess the economic viability of a proposed 8,000 ton per day mining operation.
The metallurgical testing program is focused on determining the heap leach characteristics of the oxide mineralization at Cerro Caliche and will provide quantified estimates of gold and silver recovery from the various mineralized zones near surface and at depth, in addition to providing recommendations for crushing sizes and associated process flow sheet development. The testing will incorporate the following components:
- Heap leach testing, including variability composite testing, drill core composite testing, bottle roll testing and column leach testing.
- Materials characterization testing, including comminution testing, mineralogy, load/ permeability testing, crushing work index, abrasiveness index and ore density.
Preliminary column leach testing of at-surface mineralized material sampled from the Japoneses Zone was carried out at a dedicated facility near Cerro Caliche by Sonoro during 2019. These tests demonstrated the material to be amendable to cyanide leaching, which will now be confirmed by an independent laboratory.
The current testing program will take into consideration the gold mineralization’s characteristics which are divided into two distinct metallurgical domains, as follows:
- Hydrothermal vein quartz structures of variable thickness, from 0.10 to 5 meters, and with variable textures from massive quartz with some vuggy quartz zones to gray quartz. The vein structures are mostly related to fault zones with resulting breccias and silicified zones in the hosting rocks.
- Veinlets-stockwork mineralization, with relatively lower average gold grades. These are zones with erratic and irregular quartz narrow veinlets from 0.01 to 0.20 meters width, sometimes with breccia and shatter textures. These veins, veinlets and stockwork are usually in silicified and oxidized zones in the hosting rock and frequently associated with similarly altered rhyolite dikes.
Drilling at Cerro Caliche has shown that the mineralization throughout the various zones is oxidized to the full extent of all the drill holes. Observation of the drill cuttings suggests that the near-surface oxidized mineralization characteristics are similar to the deeper oxidized mineralization.
The current exploration work is part of the Company’s targeted fast-track development schedule for the Cerro Caliche project with the aspirational goal of commencing gold production by the end of 2021. However, a successful realization of that goal remains subject to several material conditions, most notably including the satisfactory completion of metallurgical testing, securing required environmental permitting, a favourable preliminary economic assessment and the availability of project financing.
Jorge Diaz, Sonoro’s Vice President Operations, stated, “It is worth noting that current exploration results are confirming Sonoro’s expectations regarding Cerro Caliche’s potential to become another important heap leach mining operation in Sonora State.”
Kenneth MacLeod, Sonoro’s CEO, added, “Launching the metallurgical testing program represents an important advancement in the development of Cerro Caliche. We are also pleased to have engaged the services of McClelland Laboratories, a widely respected metallurgical testing firm with significant expertise in the successful planning of similar open-pit heap leach mining operations in Sonora State.”
John Darch, Sonoro’s Chairman added, “The engagement of McClelland Laboratories to independently conduct metallurgical testing at Cerro Caliche is a clear and decisive milestone on Sonoro’s fast-track development schedule for commencing gold production by the end of 2021.”
Geologic Description
Cerro Caliche is located 45 kilometers east southeast of Magdalena de Kino in the Cucurpe-Sonora Mega-district of Sonora, Mexico. Multiple historic small 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 includes epithermal low sulfidation veins and related mineralized rhyolitic dikes and associated volcanic domes.
Host rocks include Jurassic-Cretaceous meta-sedimentary rock units including argillite, shale, quartzite, limestone, quartz pebble conglomerate and andesite. Tertiary age medium coarse-grained granodiorite-granite is present in the westerly parts of the concessions near the historic Cabeza Blanca Mine. It is apparent that veining cuts pervasively alters the intrusive stock. Younger rhyolite occurs in irregular bodies distributed in higher elevations in the northerly part of the concession, including the Rincon area, where it occurs as flows, sills, dikes and rhyolite domes. Part of the rhyolite is mineralized and appears to have a connection with deposition of epithermal gold mineralization throughout the property.
Qualified Person Statement
Stephen 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 gold mineralization in the concessions held by the Company.
About McClelland Laboratories
McClelland Laboratories, Inc. (MLI) has been providing quality laboratory and consulting services to the minerals industry for over 33 years. Their services include metallurgical, environmental, analytical testing and consulting to meet their clients’ needs during all phases of project development, operation, and closure. MLI started as a lab dedicated to the gold, silver and copper industries and has expanded to provide services in a wide range of mineral markets.
MLI has an experienced staff of metallurgical, chemical, and environmental science and engineering professionals and technicians working in over 44,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in Sparks, Nevada. MLI works closely with their clients to design testing programs which meet their project objectives. The MLI philosophy is to design testing programs and procedures to produce the maximum amount of data to efficiently add value to their clients’ projects. MLI understands that attention to detail and quality of work, along with prompt professional service, are of utmost importance to their clients.
About Sonoro Gold Corp.
Sonoro Gold Corp. is an exploration and development company which is fast tracking plans to develop a heap leach gold mine at its flagship Cerro Caliche property in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Sonora, Mexico. Sonoro’s management team consists of expert mining, business, and finance professionals with multi-decade track records of gold and copper deposit discovery and development and ultimately, gold production.
On behalf of the Board of SONORO METALS CORP.
Per: “Kenneth MacLeod”
Kenneth MacLeod
President & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Sonoro Metals Corp. – Tel: (604) 632-1764
Email: info@sonorogold.com
Forward-Looking Statement Cautions: This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to, among other things, the Company’s plans for metallurgical testing and drilling of the above-described Cerro Caliche Concessions, located in the municipality of Cucurpe, Sonora, Mexico, and the Company’s future exploration and development plans for those properties, including the aspirational goal of commencing gold production by the end of 2021. 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 unfavourable interim exploration results, the lack of sufficient future financing to carry out exploration 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.