Southern Empire Provides Oro Cruz Project Historical Mine Dumps Assay Results and Preliminary Cyanidation Metallurgical Test Results
Southern Empire Provides Oro Cruz Project
Historical Mine Dumps Assay Results and
Preliminary Cyanidation Metallurgical Test
Results
VANCOUVER, BC
,
June 25, 2021
/CNW/ - Southern Empire Resources Corp. ("Southern Empire")
(TSXV: SMP) (
Frankfurt
: 5RE) (OTC: SMPEF) is pleased to provide an update on the preliminary
characterization and metallurgical assessment of surface materials collected from various historical
mine waste rock dumps on its Oro Cruz Property, southeastern
California
.
David Tupper
, Southern Empire's VP Exploration stated:
"The objectives of our preliminary studies
were to establish the presence of gold in the historical, pit-run mine waste dump materials and to
determine if such gold could potentially be extracted from these materials by conventional leach
methods. The results are positive and supportive of a more detailed assessment of the gold
potential in the historical mine waste rock stockpiles that exist at our brownfields Oro Cruz Project."
Oro Cruz Project - Historical Mine Waste Rock Dump Sample Gold Assay Results Summary:
American Girl Waste Rock Dump
:
Average gold assay of 104 surface rock samples:
0.448 grams gold/tonne
("g Au/t")
Range of values (maximum/minimum):
7.070 / 0.009 g Au/t
Approximate footprint:
17.5 hectares ("ha"; 43.1 acres)
Padre y Madre Waste Rock Dump
:
Average gold assay of 54 surface rock samples:
Range of values (maximum/minimum):
Approximate footprint:
0.203 g Au/t
1.770 / <0.002 g Au/t
7.6 ha (18.1 acres)
Oro Cruz Waste Rock Dump
:
Average gold assay of 29 surface rock samples:
Range of values (maximum/minimum):
Approximate footprint:
0.208 g Au/t
0.768 / 0.022 g Au/t
10.4 ha (25.7 acres)
Dale Wallster
, Southern Empire's CEO commented:
"We are very encouraged with the initial
assessment of the gold potential of our Oro Cruz Project historical waste dumps. Specifically, we
are very pleased with the preliminary cyanidation metallurgical test gold recovery rates of 74.4%
and 89.7% for the American Girl and the Padre y Madre materials respectively. While the gold
grades we are reporting are less than 1 gram per tonne, they are still very significant given that
more than 60% of the
125,736
ounces that Equinox Gold produced at their nearby Mesquite mine
in 2019 was from their low-grade waste rock dumps."
Equinox Gold Corp.'s April, 2020 NI 43-101 Technical Report, concerning their Mesquite mine,
reported an Indicated Resource estimate of 5.2 million tonnes in their waste dumps grading 0.18 g
Au/t and an Inferred Resource estimate in the waste dumps of 26.4 million tonnes grading 0.23 g
Au/t. Proven and Probable open pit, oxide reserves outlined at the Mesquite mine include 13.7 million
tonnes grading 0.37 g Au/t (See Equinox Gold Corp. news release of
May 12, 2020
).
Mineralization
at the Mesquite Mine is not necessarily indicative of mineralization at the Oro Cruz Project and its
waste dumps.
Preliminary Metallurgical Test Work Results
Blue Coast Research Ltd. ("Blue Coast") of
Parksville, British Columbia
, was contracted to
undertake cyanidation metallurgical studies of two composite samples blended from select assay
laboratory sample rejects (>80% passing 2mm) of surface grab samples collected from each of the
American Girl and Padre y Madre waste rock dumps. These sample composites are not considered
representative of waste rock dump material gold grades.
American Girl Waste Rock Dump Material
:
Test procedure
Samples comprising Composite
Composite sample head grade:
Aliquot sample size:
96-hour Gold Recovery:
96-hour Coarse Material Bottle Roll
10
0.61 g Au/t
2.0 kg
74.4 %
Padre y Madre Waste Rock Dump Material
:
Test procedure
Samples comprising Composite
Composite sample head grade:
Aliquot sample size:
96-hour Gold Recovery:
96-hour Coarse Material Bottle Roll
2
0.39 g Au/t
1.0 kg
89.7 %
Future planned work for additional evaluation of the historical waste rock mine dump materials
includes:
Determination of waste dump volumes
Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling and mechanical trenching to properly characterize the
distribution of gold in the waste dump materials
Conduct additional cyanidation and column leach tests to determine gold extraction at different
crush sizes
Conduct gravity concentration/mass reduction test work
Sampling Procedures and Quality Assurance and Quality Controls ("QA/QC")
Grab samples of fine and coarse material were collected at roughly 50 metre ("m"; 164 feet) to
100
m
(328 ft) centres across the upper surfaces and around the perimeter slopes of the historical, pit-
run mine waste dumps.
Gold analysis was performed by the Geoanalytical Laboratories of the Saskatchewan Research
Council ("SRC") in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
(ISO 17025:2017). The SRC is one of
Canada's
leading providers of applied research, development and demonstration ("RD&D"), and its
internationally recognized and accredited, state-of-the-art Geoanalytical Laboratories have provided
high-quality, advanced analytical testing and mineral processing analysis to the exploration and
mining industry since 1973. For further information regarding the SRC and the accreditation of their
Geoanalytical Laboratories, please visit
www.src.sk.ca/mining
.
Gold assay results for the samples collected are only a preliminary assessment of the potential
presence of gold hosted by the historical mine waste dumps and are not considered representative
of the whole. As a result, QA/QC were limited to analytical lab checks with the insertion of
standards, blanks and repeat samples in the sample stream prior to gold fire assay analysis at SRC.
A combination of appropriately spaced mechanical trenching and RC drilling is required to provide
sample profiles through the full height of the historical waste dumps to properly assess the
distribution and total content of gold within them.
The metallurgical test work conducted by Blue Coast on the Oro Cruz Project historical waste dump
materials is also preliminary in nature. The objective of this limited test work was to establish the
potential for gold extraction by conventional leach methods. The American Girl and Padre y Madre
waste dump surface sample composites (with target P
80
primary grind sizes of 892 micron ("μm")
and 995 μm, respectively) were each the subject of a single 96-hour bottle roll cyanidation test
utilizing a sodium cyanide solution of 1.0 g/L NaCN maintained throughout and solids maintained at
40%. Dissolved oxygen was maintained at ~8 parts per million (ppm) and pH was maintained in the
range of 10.5-11.
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
heap leaching of lower-grade ores and milling of higher-grade ores. 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 Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements which constitute "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation ("forward-looking
statements"). All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-
looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release and reflect
management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipated", "estimated",
"potential", "open", "future", "assumed", "projected", "used", "detailed", "has been", "gain", "planned",
"reflecting", "will", "anticipated", "estimated", "might", "may" "containing", "remaining", "to be", or
statements that events, "could" or "should" occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including
negative variations.
Southern Empire cautions that all forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance; that they are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a
number of material factors, many of which are beyond its respective control. Forward-looking
statements are subject to a many, varied known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors,
many of which are beyond the ability of Southern Empire to control or predict, and which could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking
statements. 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, results of metallurgical test work, the
ability to fund exploration and development programs, and other risks and uncertainties identified in
Southern Empire's annual and interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis
that are filed on the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis
and Retrieval ("SEDAR"). 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 Oro Cruz Project 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 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.
Work Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Timing of Southern Empire's exploration programs will be contingent on governmental regulations
regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and also the availability of exploration-related personnel, drill
contractors, equipment, lodging, et cetera. Southern Empire will adhere to COVID-19 directives
regarding safe working practices putting worker, community and national safety first and will
proceed with exploration and development work programs only if potential COVID-19 risks can be
effectively managed.
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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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 10:02e 25-JUN-21