VANCOUVER, June 7, 2019 /CNW/ - Oroco Resource Corp.
(TSX-V: OCO) ("Oroco" or "the Company") is
pleased to announce the receipt of the initial draft of an
Independent Technical Report regarding the Geology, Mineralization,
and Exploration of the Santo Tomas Cu-(Mo-Au-Ag) Porphyry Deposit
in Sinaloa, Mexico ("the
Technical Report"). The Technical Report has been prepared by
Dane A. Bridge Consulting Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, for use by the Company and
by Altamura Copper Corp. ("Altamura") for filing as a
Technical Report with Canadian securities authorities pursuant to
National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects, per the NI 43-101F guidelines.
As announced by the Company on May
7th and May
9th, 2019 regarding a favourable final and
written decision of the federal appeal court in Mexico ("the Decision"), which decision
is not subject to appeal, the Company may now proceed to register
the Santo Tomás Concession titles to Xochipala Gold S.A. de C.V., a
subsidiary of Altamura. Oroco currently owns 13.0 percent of
Altamura and holds an irrevocable option to acquire the balance of
Altamura (refer to the Company's news release of October 9, 2018). Together with the Decision, the
receipt of the Technical Report provides the Company with a
current, compliant technical basis upon which to advance the Santo
Tomás Project by confirming and extending the technical
fundamentals of the Project.
The Decision and the Technical Report represent critical
milestones which immediately permit the Company to plan for the
near-term perfection of its title over the Project, and to plan and
undertake exploration work that will seek to verify and confirm key
aspects of a substantial body of historical resource work.
The Santo Tomas Cu-Mo-Au-Ag porphyry deposit is now
documented along 5 km of strike length, and the Technical Report
describes Laramide-age intrusion and hydrothermal mineralization
within a large NNE-trending wrench fault and fracture system.
Mr. Craig Dalziel, President of
Oroco stated, "We are very pleased to be able to release the
Technical Report closely following the appeal court decision in
Mexico. The Technical Report
clearly provides a basis upon which to advance the Santo Tomás
Project and to immediately work to re-rate the Company's valuation
by confirming and extending the technical fundamentals of the
Project. The report validates the 10 year process of
extensive strategic planning, complicated legal initiatives,
complementary land assembly and partnership arrangements, and key
technical confirmations which have resulted in an extraordinary
opportunity for the Company."
The Technical Report presents the key findings of historical
technical reports, including a 1994 Prefeasibility Study by Bateman
Engineering (supported by metallurgical work by Mountain States
R&D International, Inc., a resource estimate by Mintec, Inc.,
and mining and plant estimates by Minetek S.A. de C.V.).
The mineral resource estimate prepared by Mintec, Inc. is no
longer considered current.1 The cited historical
reports were based upon a data set comprised of 90 historical drill
holes (reverse circulation and diamond-drill) totaling 21,075 m, with the resulting database now
controlled by Oroco.
The historical Bateman Report1 details several
favourable deposit characteristics, including:
- large volume and low strip ratio (Bateman, 1994: greater than 950 million tonnes
above a cut-off grade of 0.20% Cu containing approximately 7.4
billion pounds of copper);
- good metallurgy (Mountain State, 1994: mineralized material
responded favourably to conventional flotation, common reagents and
a 200-mesh grind to produce a 26% to 28% copper concentrate);
- the studies identified no major project risks, and highlight
the proximity of the project to substantial local energy and
transport infrastructure; and
- substantial exploration potential along a largely underexplored
5km strike length.
Further, the Technical Report integrates the historical work
with a newer satellite digital terrain model, and field geology and
structural mapping, part of the exploration work undertaken between
2017 and 2019 by Oroco. Notably, recent structural work by Bridge
Consulting corroborates the essential attitude and boundary
features of the mineralization as recognized by technical
consultants, Cambria (2009) and Thornton (2011), who undertook mineral
resource-related work subsequent to the published 1994 Bateman
Engineering Prefeasibility study, and who modeled certain key
features of the geology and mineralization (refer to the
longitudinal section and web link following).
Although these items are strictly historical in nature, they are
of significance for near term exploration planning by Oroco. The
Technical Report compares an historical block model and grade shell
volume for the North Zone prepared by Cambria Geosciences Inc. in
2009 with the conclusions of the 2019 structural mapping, and
reports that the Cambria 2009 Grade Shell of mineralized material
greater than 0.30% Cu remains valid considering the new structural
data, and is acceptable as geological information to confidently
recommend a program of concurrent surface geophysical surveys, and
confirmation and definition drilling.
Specifically, the Technical Report recommends that initial work
at Santo Tomas include 200 line-km
of deep 3D Induced Polarization ("3D DCIP") surveying over the
known extent of mineralization, and a drill program of 11 core
drill holes (approximately 7,300 m)
that will verify and better contextualize the historical drilling
at the North Zone. The Company views this initial program of
confirmation drilling as critical to providing future validation
for a near-surface, higher-grade, low-stripping ratio zone of
relevance for a mine scoping study.
The reader is directed to the Oroco website at
www.orocoresourcecorp.com for further detail regarding historical
work, other longitudinal sections and a plan control map for the
above section, together with a Legend for the Sections, and for
other graphics representing the principal elements of the
historical / geological resource work.
The Technical Report presents a set of vertical Longitudinal
Sections that illustrate the potential of the near-surface,
higher-grade central portions of the North Zone with strong strike
continuity of the mineralization. The Technical Report author
recognizes that the Cambria 2009 Grade Shell provides a geological
validation for the continuity of mineralization and indicates a
target volume of approximately 280 to 315 million tonnes and a
target grade of 0.45% to 0.55% copper in a tabular body dipping
towards the west at 50º. The fringes of the Cambria 2009 Grade
Shell are prospective for exploration step-out drilling, to depth
and along strike both to the north and south.
The historical mineral resource estimate1 by Mintec,
Inc. (1994) of the North Zone segment of the Santo Tomas deposit requires verification by
drilling and by check assay of historical diamond drill core, in
order to confirm, and in future, to report a compliant NI 43-101
mineral resource in that area.
The Technical Report notes that the Santo Tomas historical assay results have been
the subject of several programs of verification re-assay, each
demonstrating a close correlation between the reported assay value
and the verification assay value. Notwithstanding, the Company
confirms that no recent program of verification of the assays at
Santo Tomas has been
conducted. The Technical Report concludes that the
historical assay results are therefore considered to be geological
information, only.
The Company looks forward to releasing the Technical Report to
the public.
TECHNICAL REVIEW:
The technical information in this
News Release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian
regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI
43-101") and has been reviewed and approved on behalf of the
Company by Mr. Dane Bridge, M.Sc.,
P. Geol., of Dane A. Bridge Consulting Inc., an Independent
Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
ABOUT OROCO:
The Company currently holds an
irrevocable option to acquire 100 percent of Altamura Copper Corp.,
a private B.C. company which holds a 50 percent interest in
Compañía Minera Ruero, S.A. de C.V., the registered owner of the
Santo Tomas concessions, and an
option to acquire the other 50 percent interest. The
Santo Tomas concessions are a
contiguous group of seven mineral concessions located in Sinaloa
State, Mexico. Altamura Copper Corp. also holds a 66.7
percent interest in Xochipala Gold, S.A de C.V., the owner of a net
85 percent unregistered contractual interest in the Santo Tomas concessions. The Company and
Altamura Copper Corp. are pursuing the registration of the
Santo Tomas concessions to
Xochipala Gold, S.A. de C.V. for reason of its preferable ownership
and investment structure relating to those concessions (see the
Company's most recent MD&A available on SEDAR).
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note
Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release includes certain "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact included herein, including without
limitation, statements relating to future events or achievements of
the Company, are forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be
accurate, and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated or implied in such statements.
Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual
results, performance or achievements to be materially different
from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Readers should not place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements and information contained in this news
release concerning these matters. Oroco does not assume any
obligation to update the forward-looking statements should they
change, except as required by law. Readers are also cautioned that
this news release includes reference to certain historical reports
and studies that are cited in the Technical Report. All of these
reports are older than three years before the date of the Technical
Report, and were not prepared for Oroco: as such these reports are
to be considered geological in nature, and are not to be relied
upon or assumed to imply any mineral resource classification(s)
with respect to the Santo Tomas Project areas of
mineralization.
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1 The
conclusion and results of the historical Bateman report are no
longer considered current. The Mintec, Inc. resource estimate
included in the historical Bateman report (1994) is the last
publicly released mineral resource estimate, but utilized a
classification scheme that is no longer accepted under NI 43-101.
Additionally, the mineral resource estimate is no longer accepted
under NI 43-101 standards for reason that it does not conform to
the current structural geological model in the Technical Report. A
qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the
historical estimate as a current mineral resource or mineral
reserve, and it is therefore not considered to be reliable.
However, the historical assaying and verification methods were
performed within the accepted standards applicable at the
time.
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SOURCE Oroco Resource Corp.