BLM Approval Received for Drilling at Southern Empire's Oro Cruz Project
BLM Approval Received for Drilling at Southern
Empire's Oro Cruz Project
TSX-V: SMP
OTC: SMPEF
Frankfurt
: 5RE
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Sept. 5, 2023
/CNW/ - Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire) (TSX-V:
SMP) (
Frankfurt
: 5RE) (OTC: SMPEF) is very pleased to announce that in an
August 31, 2023
Press Release
, the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) stated that Southern Empire's subsidiary, SMP Gold Corp., was approved to "
move
forward with mineral exploration on public lands"
at its wholly owned Oro Cruz Project located in
Imperial County, California
.
David Tupper
, Southern Empire's VP of Exploration stated,
"
Receiving the BLM's approval for our
planned Oro Cruz exploration is a major step forward for us, one that brings us much closer to
both drilling the high-grade, oxide gold zone of the Cross Mine, which last produced gold in
1996, and to establish surface infrastructure that will enable us to access its underground
workings, which remain in excellent condition.
"
On
September 1, 2023
, the BLM issued a Decision Record (DR), based on information provided by an
Environmental Assessment prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
and a signed Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), approving proposed exploration activities (the
Proposed Action) as described in both Southern Empire's Plan of Operations (the Plan) for the Oro Cruz
Project and in the Environmental Assessment/Mitigated Negative Declaration (EA/MND) jointly prepared
in coordination with the Imperial County Planning Department (ICPD), which is the lead agency for the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) permitting for the Oro Cruz Project.
BLM approval of the Proposed Action set out in the Oro Cruz Project Plan of Operations allows
for:
Establishment of up to 65 drill pads in seven drill target areas
Reverse Circulation (RC) and/or core drilling of up to 65 drill holes
Improvement and construction of access roads
Creation of a staging area at the Cross Mine underground portal for infrastructure required
to support future underground drill programs.
The Plan proposes that Southern Empire conduct the Proposed Action on lands administered and
managed by the BLM that specifically occur within a 257-hectare (ha; 635 acre) area of the ~184,000-
acre Picacho Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which covers important cultural and biological
resources and the historic Cargo Muchacho - Tumco Mining district. The actual surface disturbance from
the Proposed Action is limited to approximately 8.3 ha (20.5 acres) and most of the proposed drill sites
are within areas previously disturbed by the historical American Girl Mining Joint Venture operations,
which concluded in 1996.
The EA/MND analyzed the affected environment and environmental impacts and established
environmental protection measures to avoid or mitigate conflicts with, and undue degradation of, natural,
cultural, and historic resources associated with the Proposed Action.
The BLM's approval of the Proposed Action, as described in the Plan and the EA/MND complies with
federal and state laws related to environmental protection and the protection of cultural resources and is
in conformance with applicable land use plans, laws, and regulations and that it will not cause
unnecessary or undue degradation. In addition, the BLM has determined that the Oro Cruz Project is
"reasonably incident" to mining and would attain the stated level of protection and reclamation required by
specific laws in the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA).
Public and Regulatory Involvement in Oro Cruz Project Permitting
The Plan was initially submitted to the BLM's El Centro Field Office on
September 28, 2020
.
The BLM, following its procedural review, determined on
November 16, 2021
that the Plan was
administratively and technically complete and consistent with U.S. federal surface management
regulations.
Environmental, biological, cultural, hydrological and other baseline studies were completed in preparation
for analysis in the permitting processes.
The BLM published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and on
March 4, 2022
, issued a
press release
announcing that the BLM was initiating an environmental review, seeking public input
regarding the Plan and implementing a NEPA-required 30-day public scoping period regarding the Oro
Cruz Project. The public scoping period ended on
April 4, 2022
, with six public scoping comment letters
received, one from a federal agency and five from public interest organizations.
A 582-page Reclamation Plan for compliance with the
State of California's
Surface Mining and
Reclamation Act
(SMARA) was prepared and submitted to the California Department of Conservation's
Division of Mine Reclamation (DMR) for their review on
June 24, 2022
. The Reclamation Plan was
considered to be complete subsequent to DMR's review and comments received on
October 28, 2022
.
This document is available at:
SMP – Oro Cruz Project,
Imperial County, California
– Reclamation Plan 20220928.
Pursuant to NEPA and CEQA, the BLM and the ICPD (on behalf of the
State of California
) jointly
prepared a draft EA/MND, the purpose of which was to provide a project description, identify issues and
describe affected environments, analyze and disclose any potential environmental, cultural, and
recreational resource impacts associated with the Plan, identify and disclose any required mitigation
measures, or project alternatives as appropriate.
The BLM also prepared and published an unsigned FONSI, based on the information contained in the
draft EA/MND, that stated that Proposed Action identified in the draft EA/MND would not significantly
affect the quality of the human environment and that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required
to be prepared for the Plan.
Only after public review and commentary regarding the draft EA/MND and the unsigned FONSI could the
BLM make a final decision regarding authorization of the Proposed Action. The draft EA/MND and the
unsigned FONSI were published for a 30-day public review period from
November 16, 2022
through
December 16, 2022
. During that time a Virtual Public Meeting was held on
November 30, 2022
and, by
the end of the open public comment period, 373 public comments had been submitted to the BLM.
The ICPD held an Environmental Evaluation Committee public hearing on
November 17, 2022
for review
of the adequacy of the CEQA analysis within the EA/MND.
Following the NEPA and CEQA public review periods, the BLM and ICPD coordinated with the third-party
NEPA and CEQA contractors to revise the draft EA/MND as deemed necessary and to respond to any
public comments received in order for the agencies to reach a decision on the Oro Cruz Project. Public
comments received did not result in substantive revisions to the EA/MND and this document was finalized.
Based on information in the EA/MND, the signed FONSI, and other related documents, the BLM has now
determined to approve the Proposed Action as described in the EA/MND for the Oro Cruz Project, and
finds this action conforms to BLM NEPA requirements. The BLM further finds this action in conformance
with applicable land use plans, laws, and regulations and that it will not cause unnecessary or undue
degradation.
The BLM's Decision Record and signed FONSI, the Environmental Assessment/Mitigated Negative
Declaration and other associated documents were posted for public review on
September 1, 2023
, online
at the
BLM NEPA Register
. These documents are also available for public review at the BLM El Centro
Field Office located at 1661 South 4th Street in
El Centro, California
.
The BLM's
September 1, 2023
decision is subject to a 30-day public appeal period.
The Imperial County Planning Commission has set a hearing at
9:00 a.m.
on
September 13, 2023
, in the
Board of Supervisors Chambers, 940 Main Street,
El Centro, California
, to make determinations
regarding the Oro Cruz Project, including, but not limited to, the adoption of the EA/MND, resolutions
adopting the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Reclamation Plan, and resolutions adopting the
Reclamation Plan. Materials for this meeting are available at:
https://www.icpds.com/assets/hearings/3.-RP21-0001-SMP-Gold-Corp-(Oro-Cruz)-PC-PKG-09-13-23.pdf
. Southern Empire continues to seek other ancillary permits at the state and county level.
Southern Empire's ongoing environmental and permitting efforts are coordinated by Del Fortner
Consulting of
Tucson, Arizona
. Our broader environmental assessment and permitting team includes:
Sespe Consulting, Inc., specialists on SMARA and CEQA baseline environmental analysis, permitting
and reclamation plan requirements, that assist in document preparation for the CEQA analysis.
Stantec Consulting Services Inc., an international firm that liaises directly with both the BLM and the
ICPD to prepare NEPA documentation for the BLM and coordinate the CEQA environmental review
process with the ICPD.
WestLand Resources, Inc., specialists in environmental engineering, permitting and planning, have
completed the Oro Cruz Project baseline environmental and cultural studies and have provided
documentation and services necessary to comply with both the NEPA and CEQA permitting
requirements.
About Southern Empire Resources Corp
.
Southern Empire is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of metals and minerals
deposits in the American southwest and northern México and is particularly focused on those that are
naturally oxidized and amenable to lower-cost metal extraction methodologies such as heap leaching. To
achieve its goals, Southern Empire has assembled a board of directors, all veterans in mine and
corporate finance, exploration, permitting, development, and operations that will guide the future growth
of the company.
In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of
Imperial County, California
, Southern Empire's wholly owned Oro
Cruz Project has the potential to re-establish gold production from an oxide gold deposit located
approximately 22.5 kilometres (14 miles) southeast of the operating Mesquite gold mine of Equinox Gold
Corp., which has now produced more than five million ounces. At Oro Cruz, extensive historical drilling
and large-scale open-pit and underground mining of the American Girl, Padre y Madre, Queen and Cross
oxide gold deposits by the American Girl Mining Joint Venture (AGMJV; being MK Gold Company and
Hecla Mining Company) occurred between 1987 and 1996. During that time, gold was recovered by heap
leaching of lower-grade ores and milling of higher-grade ores. Following significant definition drilling and
underground development, the Cross open-pit and underground mines operated successfully for only one
year, producing about 61,000 ounces of gold, until AGMJV operations ceased in late 1996 as collapsing
gold prices caused their entire operations to be shuttered and decommissioned. This left the Oro Cruz
property with many gold exploration targets in addition to the Cross oxide gold deposit having a historical
inferred resource estimate, as reported in 2011 by Lincoln Mining Corp., totalling 341,800 ounces gold
based on 4,386,000 tonnes averaging 2.2 grams gold per tonne at a cut-off grade of 0.68 g/t Au
(4,835,000 tons at 0.07 ounce gold per ton; please refer to the Cautionary Notice Regarding the Oro
Cruz Property Historical Resource Estimate below). Although no surface facilities remain, the
underground infrastructure at Oro Cruz (including a 2.4 kilometre haulage ramp, sublevels and draw
points) remains in excellent condition and the open pit was abandoned just after stripping was completed
prior to the start of its Stage II expansion.
Southern Empire continues to finalize ancillary state and county permitting for the Oro Cruz Project. The
planned work program of up to 65 exploration, confirmation and metallurgical drill holes will support a new
mineral resource estimate and test the potential of waste rock dumps to yield residual gold production.
In northern México (
Sonora
, Chihuahua, and Durango), Southern Empire has a leachable copper prospect
and three gold projects having bulk-tonnage potential. Our Mexican projects are the:
Suaqui Verde Copper Project,
Suaqui Grande, Sonora
;
Centauro Gold Project, Escalón, Chihuahua;
Pedro Gold Project, Mapimí, Durango;
La Loma Gold Project,
Nazas, Durango
; and,
Southern Empire has recently entered into an agreement allowing for the acquisition of up to a 100%
beneficial interest in the Suaqui Verde Copper Project, situated in the mining-friendly
State of Sonora
in
northwestern México. The Suaqui Verde copper deposit is characterized by oxide and enriched copper
sulphide mineralization and has been explored through historical drill holes. It lies within the
Sonora
-
Arizona
porphyry copper province, known for its copper-molybdenum deposits. The project
covers approximately 1,952 hectares and has been the subject of various historical open-pit mineral
resource estimates. The agreement includes access to water usage rights and surface land rights. The
location offers good access to infrastructure and workforce, and the deposit's potential development
scenarios encompass open pit mining and heap leaching, or innovative in-situ leaching, both aimed at
cathode copper production through SX/EW processing methods. Southern Empire aims to capitalize on
previous investments and explore the deposit's expansion potential.
The three gold projects are located along what Southern Empire is calling the Mapimí Gold Corridor, a
150-kilometre, southeast-trending Oligocene tectonostratigraphic belt, the regional geological setting of
which, together with numerous coincident geological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics as
observed at Centauro, Pedro and
La Loma
, strongly supports the proposition that the Mapimí Gold
Corridor has significant potential to host bulk-mineable, low sulfidation epithermal and/or Carlin-style gold
deposits.
For more information on Southern Empire, its people and its projects, please visit our website:
www.smp.gold
.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Southern Empire Resources Corp.,
Dale Wallster
, CEO and Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined
in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Information and Forward-Looking
Statements
Information provided in this news release may contain forward-looking information or forward-looking
statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. Such information or
statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations and are not
guarantees of future performance. Southern Empire cautions that all forward-looking statements are
inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many
of which are beyond its respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and
uncertainties relating to Southern Empire's limited operating history, the need to comply with
environmental and governmental regulations, results of exploration programs on its projects and those
risks and uncertainties identified in its annual and interim financial statements and management discussion
and analysis. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the
estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information.
Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Southern Empire undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
Cautionary Notice Regarding the Oro Cruz Project Historical Mineral Resource
Estimate
The historical mineral resource estimate outlined above is disclosed in a technical report dated
April 29,
2011
, prepared for Lincoln Mining Corp. by Tetra Tech, Inc. and filed on the Canadian Securities
Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (
SEDAR+
). It is termed an
inferred mineral resource, which is a category set out in NI 43-101 and was based on historical reverse
circulation and core drill hole sample, underground channel sample, and blasthole sample assay results
and calculated using ordinary kriging to estimate gold grades in 10-foot-by-10-foot-by-five-foot blocks.
Accordingly, Southern Empire considers this historical estimate reliable as well as relevant as it presents
key targets for future exploration work. However, a QP has not done sufficient work to verify or classify
the historical estimate as a current mineral resource and Southern Empire is not treating this historical
mineral resource estimate as current mineral resources.
SOURCE
Southern Empire Resources Corp.
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For further information:
on Southern Empire please visit both www.smp.gold and SEDAR+ or contact:
Lubica Keighery, (778) 889-5476, [email protected] .
CO: Southern Empire Resources Corp.
CNW 08:20e 05-SEP-23