Soil sampling expands known gold footprint and trench resampling highlights include 11.7 g/t Au and 26.5 g/t Au.
Vancouver, BC – October 22, 2015 – Sonoro Metals Corp. (TSXV: SMO) (“Sonoro”), and Northern Empire Resources Corp. (TSXV: NM) (“Northern Empire”), today announced results from the Phase 2 exploration program at the Hilltop Gold Project (“Hilltop”) located 70 km SE of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Phase 2, conducted in August and September, includes the collection of 355 soil samples, 42 rock samples, and the resampling of a specific section of trench 5 from Phase 1.
“The Phase 2 exploration program has expanded the known gold footprint at the Hilltop South and Hilltop North areas, highlighted new prospective target areas, demonstrated a clear association between gold values and Intrusive Related Gold pathfinder elements in both rock/trench samples and soils, and returned higher gold values than this spring’s trenching program,” stated Northern Empire’s Chairman, John Robins.
Kenneth MacLeod, President and CEO of Sonoro added: “The exploration results from both Phase 1 and 2 at Hilltop have exceeded our expectations and support our belief that the Richardson Gold District will emerge as one of the most exciting areas for gold exploration in Alaska as we advance this project. We look forward to building on our exploration successes in 2015 in the near future.”
Highlights from Phase 2 include:
- During the period between the Phase 1 and Phase 2 exploration programs, erosion at trench 5 exposed a larger portion of an Arsenopyrite-bearing quartz vein sampled in Phase 1. Resampling of trench 5 during Phase 2 returned high grade gold values averaging 9.71 g/t Au over 4 m. Phase 1 results (see news release of August 10, 2015) for this same interval were 2.337 g/t Au. The resampling highlighted gold in rock samples of 11.7 g/t Au from 0-1 m and 26.5 g/t Au from 1.0 to 2.0 m in trench 5;
- Gold values in the Phase 2 soils range from 2.5 to 60 ppb and exhibit a positive correlation with Intrusive Related Gold (“IRG”) pathfinder elements, including As, Bi, Sb, Te, W, and Pb;
- Infill soil samples were collected in the area of the due diligence sampling in Phase 1 (Hilltop South). Assay results have expanded and substantiate a strong east to west trending gold in soils anomaly measuring 1.8 km long by 500 m wide;
- Infill soils were collected at Hilltop North in the area of anomalous top of bedrock soils which were collected during the 2011 season by a previous exploration group. Infill lines along previously sampled anomalous soils further confirmed the anomalous nature of the gold in soils values and also better defined the anomalous area to 100 m spaced lines (previously 200 m spaced lines);
- Anomalous reconnaissance soil samples and rock float samples collected in the Mosquito Creek drainage area (6 km SW of Hilltop) highlight this area for potential follow-up work in 2016;
- Infill soil samples collected between sections of anomalous sample lines (500 m line spacing) collected in Phase 1 at the Birch Hill Conductor (3 km SW of Hilltop) further highlight the anomalous nature of this zone.
To view a map of the Hilltop Gold Project, please visit Sonoro’s website at: /projects/hilltop/
Geologic Description
The Hilltop Gold Project is located 70 km ESE of Fairbanks, Alaska and sits within the boundaries of the Yukon Tanana Terrain (YTT) which extends from West-central Alaska well into the Yukon. The YTT consists of deformed and variably metamorphosed mid Paleozoic and older sedimentary, volcanic and plutonic rocks intruded by Mid-Cretaceous and early Tertiary plutonic and minor volcanic rocks. Locally, Hilltop sits within the 40-km long, northwest trending Richardson Gneiss Dome which is cored by a central migmatite, mantled by gneiss and surrounded by lithologically equivalent schist (Noyes el al., 2006).
Bedrock at Hilltop is dominated by a flat lying, broadly folded, quartz dominated muscovite-sericte-biotite schist. Within trenches, this schist varies from muscovite sericite to quartz-muscovite biotite to quartzite. Metamorphic grade is upper greenschist. Folding here is low amplitude with wavelengths from 0.5 m to 2 meters. Quartz veins are common, flat-lying and conformable to the schist foliation ranging in thickness from 2 cm to 0.4 m. Local steeply dipping and cross cutting quartz veins to 1 m in width have been mapped and sampled within trench boundaries.
Within the Richardson/Hilltop Property boundaries, other lithologies present include Quartz-Feldspar Porphyry, Massive quartzite, graphite schist and quartz boulders.
Analytical Procedures
All soil samples were sent to Activation Labs in Ancaster Ontario, an ISO accredited Laboratory. Gold analysis was by FA-AA (Fire Assay – Atomic Absorption), details of the procedure can be found at: http://www.actlabs.com/page.aspx?page=473&app=226&cat1=549&tp=12&lk=no&menu=64
Soil samples were also subjected to Enzyme Leach analysis. Details of the procedure can be found at: http://www.actlabs.com/page.aspx?page=746&app=226&cat1=549&tp=12&lk=no&menu=64
Rock samples from the trenches were assayed using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry) and FA-AA and submitted to ALS Chemex in Fairbanks, Alaska.
On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) Measures
Soil samples are collected in the field using wet strength Kraft bags. Samples returned to the field office are organized and dried before shipping, making sure that physical and hydromorphic contact between bags does not occur. Once dry, the sample bags are placed into labelled, secure rice sacks for shipment. Northern Empire has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of field collected samples. This program includes inserting field duplicates, standards and blanks, equivalent to 10% of the sample set, into the sample stream.
About the Hilltop Gold Project
Hilltop is an exploration-stage gold project located 70 km southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and 70 km northwest of Delta Junction in east-central interior Alaska. Gold producers in the region are Sumitomo’s Pogo mine (4.973 million ounces at 12.5 g/t Au) located 75 km to the east and Kinross’s Fort Knox mine (3.8 million ounces at 0.45 g/t Au) located 135 km to the north.
The 31,960-acre (12,836 hectares) Hilltop property is bordered on the south by the all-weather and paved Richardson highway. In addition, Hilltop is proximal to high-power electrical transmission lines and the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Access into the interior of the property from the Richardson highway is via a new system of logging roads and trails which makes most points within Hilltop accessible for exploration activities.
Northern Empire holds a 100-per-cent interest in the Hilltop property within the broader Richardson gold district (excluding placer gold). Northern Empire has granted Sonoro an option to earn a 60-per-cent interest in Hilltop through the expenditure of $3-million on exploration activities at Hilltop and the issuance of 1,000,000 Sonoro shares to Northern Empire prior to Dec. 31, 2019.
Stephen Kenwood, P. Geo. is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has read and takes responsibility for this news release. Readers are cautioned that the presence of mineralization on properties adjacent to or in proximity to Hilltop is not necessarily indicative of alteration and mineralization on Hilltop.
About Sonoro Metals Corp.
Sonoro Metals Corp. is a mineral exploration company with a portfolio of properties in Alaska, USA; Sonora State, Mexico; and British Columbia, Canada. Exploration on the Hilltop Gold Project in Alaska is being managed by Sonoro’s project partner, Northern Empire Resources Corp. under the direction of its Chairman, John Robins, P.Geo. Sonoro has a skilled exploration team in Mexico, headed by Hermosillo-based Chief Geologist Melvin Herdrick, with over 35 years of experience, including 9 years as Chief Geologist for Phelps Dodge in Mexico and 5 years as VP of Exploration for Pediment Gold Corp. until its takeover by Argonaut Gold in 2011. Sonoro’s Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Kenwood, P.Geo., has over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and development.
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, including statements regarding the completion of a proposed Offering and the use of the Offering proceeds to further explore the Company’s Cerro Caliche project. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, 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. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the inability of the Company to secure sufficient subscriptions to complete the Offering, the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, or the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out the Company’s exploration plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company’s business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company’s reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators’ System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects
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