Sonoro Gold Completes Ambitious Drilling Program at Cerro Caliche

Sonoro Gold reported the assay results from the last seven drill holes of its Phase IV drilling program at its Sonora-based Cerro Caliche gold project. With the new results, the company has confirmed the possible expansion of known mineralized zones.

In a press release, Sonoro noted that the primary objective of the Phase IV drilling program was to increase the estimated size and grade of the project’s mineralization, potentially extend the life of a proposed heap leach mining operation (HLMO) and update the Mineral Resource Estimate. The company highlighted  that during the exploration program, more than 7,200m were drilled through 63 holes, which intersected higher-grade gold mineralization and confirmed the expansion of several gold zones.

The company highlighted that the final holes of the Phase IV program were drilled at the Abejas gold mineralized zone. Among the main highlights were that the “SCR-321 intercepted 15.24m averaging 1.336g/t Au, including 4.57m averaging 3.657g/t Au. SCR-322 intercepted 18.29m averaging 0.785g/t Au, including 1.52m averaging 4.88g/t Au.”  Sonoro said the results from the seven holes confirmed a 30m extension to the south outside the estimated resource pit.

Mel Herdrick, VP Exploration, Sonoro Gold said that "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."

In an earlier interview with MBN, John Darch, Chairman of the Board, Sonoro Gold, explained that the company started drilling in early Dec. 2021. Based on the new results, the company would decide whether to continue drilling or go directly to production. “We believe that the drilling will show that Cerro Caliche’s potential is considerably higher than the PEA indicates. We plan to continue expanding our assets to reach a minimum of 1 million oz, which would prove that Cerro Caliche has a life of at least 14 years,” said Darch in early 2022.

To date, Sonoro has completed more than 41,800m of drilling at Cerro Caliche. The company noted that with new data provided by the company's drilling and from previous operators, the company now has accumulated 55km of geological data. Sonoro announced that new drilling results from the Phase IV program will be included in an updated resource estimate, scheduled to be presented in 4Q22. In addition, the company noted that the economic impact of the new estimate on the proposed HLMO will also be studied.