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.