For precious metals & mining investors in-the-know, they generally focus on companies which are developing cash-flowing operations with high growth potential in mining-friendly jurisdictions where the solid profit margins of similar deposits already being mined significantly reduce the development risks.
Well, one Vancouver BC-based junior explorer you may be new to checks all of those boxes, and then some.
Sonoro Gold Corp. (
TSX-V.SGO,
OTC: SMOFF,
Forum) is a precious metals junior exploration and development company operating in Sonora State, Mexico. There are several mines already operating in its immediate neighborhood and in the coming month Sonoro expects to issue a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for a 15,000 ton per day heap leach gold mining operation at its flagship Cerro Caliche project. Sonoro’s executive hails from Phelps Dodge, Argonaut Gold, Glamis Gold, Alamos Gold and another smaller but still major success story Pediment Gold. A notable accomplishment of Sonoro’s head of operations was when he directed the development of Alamos Gold’s highly successful Mulatos – a mine which in effect provided the cash flow and growth which led to it becoming a huge winner for investors.
Key to the Sonoro story is its strategy is to begin producing gold and use the cash flow to continue drilling the property with a goal of increasing its gold resources and the size of the mining operation. A 2020 report estimated the potential to be 75 million tonnes to 100 million tonnes averaging 0.3 to 0.5 grams per tonne based on known gold zones.
These are grades that are quite profitable for heap leach miners in the region. Only 20% of the Cerro Caliche's known near surface oxide gold zones have so far been drilled. But this 20% is expected to be enough according to its storied management to support a 15,000 TPD operation for more than five years. While it is assisting independent contractors to complete the Cerro Caliche PEA and resource study Sonoro has continued to sample and map the area where mining is planned with the intent to outline potential extensions of the gold mineralization. This work is meant to augment a drilling campaign which is expected to begin this fall.
The results of this sampling program point to major extensions of the gold zones making them highly impressive to say the least.
In the News
On July 20th, the company reported assay results from surface sampling recently completed at Cerro Caliche.
The results have confirmed material extensions of several of the project’s oxide gold mineralized zones and demonstrate linear structural corridors of anomalous gold, silver, and base metal mineralization.
This ongoing surface sampling program will be part of the foundation for the upcoming drilling program designed to materially expand and categorize the project’s oxide gold mineralization.
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Highlights of Recent Assay Results at Cerro Caliche Gold Project:
- Collected 1,292 soil and surface rock samples from several well-defined vein and gold mineralized, structural corridors.
- Confirmed 600-meter southern extension of the El Colorado - La Ventana Corridor; assay results returned 23.7 meters averaging 1.7 grams of gold per tonne (“g/t Au”), including 5.5 meters averaging 6.0 g/t Au; 8.0 meters averaging 0.6 g/t Au.
- Confirmed 750-meter southern extension of the Buena Suerte - San Quintin Corridor; assay results returned 52.6 meters averaging 0.2 g/t Au including 2.6 meters averaging 2.2 g/t Au; 8.0 meters averaging 0.8 g/t Au; 1.0 meters averaging 9.4 g/t Au.
- Identified high silver content at La Magdalena from the northeastern La Magdelena - La Española corridor; assay results returned 1 meter averaging 1,230 g/t Ag with 6.6 g/t Au.
Kenneth MacLeod, Sonoro’s President and CEO commented:
“The sampling data cited in this news release, together with the additional sampling awaiting assaying, will be instrumental in supplementing recommendations for future exploration to be outlined in the upcoming PEA, anticipated to be released in August. Sonoro is scheduling the next phase of drilling to commence this fall.”
And John Darch, Chairman of Sonoro Gold Corp., added:
“This sampling program and the highly encouraging results are one of the key components of management’s strategy to develop the conceptual heap leach mining operation and, if successful, to use the cash flow to fund our on-going drilling program and continue expanding already known gold resources and the proposed mine’s rate of production. Our efforts to date have tested barely 20% of the known mineralized zones and I look forward to reporting to our shareholders additional results from this program as well as our upcoming drilling program.”
For a detailed project development report on Cerro Caliche, click here.
As well,
on June 1st, Sonoro Gold announced the completion of Phase Three of its drilling program at Cerro Caliche as the company extended drilling activities to continue to investigate the potential merging of the Japoneses and Buena Suerte zones into a single body of shallow, oxide gold mineralization.
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VP of Exploration, Mel Herdrick, commented on the positive results at this program, as well:
“I am pleased that these latest drill holes show the area between the two gold bearing zones, which was previously considered barren, does in fact carry gold mineralization. It is a very encouraging ending for what has been a very effective drill program. There remains much more potential in the areas we plan to drill later this year and next and I expect that this drilling will continue to define and materially expand and categorize the project’s oxide gold mineralization.”
2020 – 2021 Drilling Program: Project Highlights
- 48 core drill holes x 6,015 meters
- 170 RC drill holes x 18,207 meters
- 11 PQ Drill holes x 712 metres for metallurgical testing
- expansion of four gold mineralized zones
- identified new & higher-grade gold mineralized zones
- shallow zones confirm oxide to depth
- total drilling to date 47,557 m (433 drill holes)
- McClelland Laboratories to complete metallurgical testing July 2021
- Micon International Ltd. to update 43-101 Resource Report August 2021
- Engaged D.E.N.M. Engineering to publish 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment August 2021
- Environmental Permit for construction Fall 2021
- Mine Development Plan on track & budget for production in the first half of 2022
Stay tuned for a detailed editorial profile on Sonora Gold Corp., coming soon.
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For more information, visit
sonorogold.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.