Permitting Update for Southern Empire's Oro Cruz Project
Permitting Update for Southern Empire's Oro
Cruz Project
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Nov. 19, 2021
/CNW/ - Southern Empire Resources Corp. ("Southern Empire");
(TSX-V: SMP) is pleased to announce continued progress in exploration permitting for its Oro Cruz
Project located in
Imperial County
, southeastern
California
.
Southern Empire submitted an Exploration Plan of Operations (EPO) for the Oro Cruz Project to the
United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on
September 28,
2020
. The BLM have now completed their procedural review of the EPO and, effective November
16, 2021, determined it to be administratively and technically complete and consistent with U.S.
federal regulations.
Southern Empire's proposed surface exploration at Oro Cruz, as set forth in the EPO, includes:
The establishment of as many as 65 surface drill pads for Reverse Circulation (RC) and core
drilling
The establishment of surface laydown facilities for underground rehabilitation, exploration and
development
Construction of approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of new, temporary access roads
Improvement of approximately 3.2 kilometres (2.0 miles) of existing access roads
The BLM decision regarding the EPO is a key step forward in Southern Empire's plans to confirm
and expand known gold-mineralized zones at Oro Cruz, a brownfields site with a long history of
mining dating up to 1996, where historical exploration operations yielded significant drill intercepts*
including:
10.7 meters of 20.9 grams gold per tonne (g Au/t) (35 feet (ft) of 0.611 oz gold/ton (opt)
11.4 meters of 10.1 g Au/t (37.5 ft of 0.294 opt)
12.2 meters of 13.4 g Au/t (40 ft of 0.391 opt)
6.9 meters of 23.1 g Au/t (22.5 ft of 0.675 opt)
8.4 meters of 17.9 g Au/t (27.5 ft of 0.523 opt)
7.6 meters of 15.9 g Au/t (25 ft of 0.465 opt)
* Please refer to Southern Empire's NI 43-101 technical report by Hrdy, dated
September 30, 2019
,
as filed on
SEDAR
Dale Wallster
, CEO of Southern Empire, commented: "Receiving this crucial BLM decision is an
important milestone for us in the exploration and development of Oro Cruz. I thank the BLM, our
technical team and our consultants for their diligent archaeological, cultural and environmental
permitting efforts to date."
The BLM decision does not constitute authorization for Southern Empire to implement its exploration
plans immediately; rather, it allows for the initiation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
environmental review process. Stantec Environmental Consulting has been selected by the BLM to
perform an Environmental Assessment (EA) for NEPA. Following preparation and submission of the
requisite NEPA documentation to the BLM, these filings and supporting technical documentation will
be made available for public comment.
Also important to the Oro Cruz permitting process is the Imperial County Planning Department
(ICPD). The ICPD requires an environmental study consistent and parallel with NEPA pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). The ICPD is in the process of selecting a third-party
environmental consultant for this work. Additionally, SMP has developed and submitted a
Reclamation Plan to the ICPD as per the guidelines of
California's
Surface Mining and Reclamation
Act
(SMARA) and awaits their review.
Del Fortner
, Southern Empire's permitting co-ordinator, commented: "We very much appreciate the
BLM's positive response to date. Southern Empire is committed to transparency, environmental
stewardship and community engagement. As can be seen in our Exploration Plan of Operations, we
take our commitment to preserving the natural and cultural environment seriously and are working
with the BLM,
Imperial County
and the local Native American communities to address any and all
concerns and explain the basis for our future project developments. We look forward to future
engagement with all stakeholders and public input in the NEPA process."
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been prepared, reviewed
and approved by
David Tupper
, P.Geo. (
British Columbia
), Southern Empire's VP Exploration and a
Qualified Person (QP) within the context of Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument
43-101; Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101).
About Southern Empire Resources Corp.
Southern Empire is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of metals and minerals
deposits in
North America
.
In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of
Imperial County, California
, Southern Empire owns 100 per
cent of the historical gold-producing American Girl mine property and holds options to acquire a 100-
per-cent interest in the adjacent 2,160-hectare (5,338-acre) Oro Cruz property located
approximately 22.5 kilometres (14 miles) southeast of the operating Mesquite gold mine of Equinox
Gold Corp.
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; ultimately owned 53 per cent by MK Gold Company and 47 per cent by
Hecla Mining Company) occurred between 1987 and 1996. During that time, gold was recovered by
either heap leaching of lower-grade, or milling of higher-grade ores until AGMJV operations ceased
in late 1996 because of declining gold prices leaving the Oro Cruz property with many gold
exploration targets in addition to the historical inferred resource estimate, 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).
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Southern Empire Resources Corp.,
Dale Wallster
, CEO and Director
Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Information
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 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 Historical Resource Estimate
The historical 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 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. It 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 represents 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 estimate as current mineral resources.
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.
SOURCE
Southern Empire Resources Corp.
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http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2021/19/c4928.html
%SEDAR: 00044214E
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 07:51e 19-NOV-21