As we enter the last two months of the 2022 year, I thought I would take this opportunity to provide you with a brief update on our Company and our flagship Cerro Caliche gold project in Sonora State, Mexico. On November 1, 2022, the Company announced the engagement of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. to complete an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) on the project and prepare an NI 43-101 Technical Report inclusive of 7,200-meters of new geological data from a drilling campaign completed in May 2022.
This is an important initiative in the development of Cerro Caliche and supports Management’s strategy to secure project financing for a proposed heap-leach mining operation.
Since drilling commenced at Cerro Caliche in September 2018, the Company’s objective has been to delineate a resource that was sufficient to support an economically viable operation. Once in production, Cerro Caliche would fund ongoing development with minimum dilution to Sonoro shareholders.
Over the past few years, the Company has worked diligently to transform Cerro Caliche from a highly prospective exploration project to a potentially economically viable resource. With just over 30% of the project’s mineralized zones mapped and assayed, the Company filed an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), outlining a proposed open pit, heap leach mining operation.
The economic impact of the additional drilling data on the proposed operation will be addressed in a further technical report following completion of the updated MRE. Drilling returned multiple higher-grade gold intercepts and demonstrated the expansion of several known mineralized gold zones within the concession. An increase in size and/or grade of the resource may potentially enhance the overall economics of the project.
Another significant milestone accomplished this year was the filing of the Environmental Impact Statement, known as the Manifestacion de Impacto Ambiental (“MIA”). The MIA is a compilation of extensive technical and environmental studies completed over the last few years on the Cerro Caliche project and its approval is required for mining construction and operation. As we progress through the permitting phase, our technical team remains engaged with the multiple stakeholders who worked alongside us to complete the multiple environmental studies and socio-economic assessments. These are critical relationships and form the foundation for the vital social license any mining Company must have within the community it operates.
Finally, we successfully completed two oversubscribed, non-brokered private placements this year, with Company directors and management participating for approximately 24% of the financings. Proceeds from both financings are being used to fund ongoing geological work and technical studies at Cerro Caliche.
For more information on Sonoro and the Cerro Caliche project, I’d encourage you to click here to review the Company’s latest Corporate Presentation or click here for the interactive version. For a more condensed summary, you can click here for our latest Fact Sheet or for a summary of why Sonoro is distinctive in the junior mining sector, click here. If you’d like to read the latest news on the Company including more information on the updated PEA, drilling results and financings, click here to visit our news page on the Sonoro website.
In closing, I would like to thank you, our valued shareholder, for your ongoing support in Sonoro Gold. None of our achievements would be possible without your confidence and faith in our dedicated and tenacious team. As we are all very aware, this has been a very challenging year for gold companies, including those in exploration, development, and production. With massive volatility in the capital markets and currency valuations pushing the US dollar to a 30 year high, we are in one of the most difficult markets in decades.
I understand this may only exacerbate shareholder frustrations over project delays and evolving timelines, but this is essentially due to outside factors. Yet despite the challenges, Sonoro has continued to successfully raise equity, maintain operations, and move the Cerro Caliche project towards development.
I am very proud of what Sonoro has been able to achieve these past few years, especially within such a particularly volatile landscape. The Company’s strategy to bring Cerro Caliche into production is founded on a solid commitment to our shareholders as we recognize our primary responsibility to create shareholders value.
As always, please feel free to contact me directly with any comments or concerns.
Kindest Regards,
John M. Darch, Chairman, Sonoro Gold Corp. Forward-Looking Statement Cautions: This Chairman’s massage 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, including statements regarding the amount of financing proposed to be raised, intended use of the financing proceeds, sufficiency of fund to complete certain project development steps, and outlook for the results of the contemplated drilling program. 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.
This message does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States, and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, as such term is defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act (“Regulation S”), except pursuant to an exemption from or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act”
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 message.