Oroco drills 0.36% CuEq over 292 metres at Santo Tomas, Mexico

Oroco Resource Corp. [OCO-TSXV; ORRCF-OTC] reported assay results from an additional 3,050 metres of drilling from holes N015 through N018 of its drilling program in the North zone of its Santo Tomas property in northwestern Mexico.

The program is proceeding well with the results continuing to confirm and expand the 2009 Gradeshell model of Cu > 0.30% derived from the historical drilling described in the company’s 2019 Technical Report.

A total of 26 holes (18,136 metres of drilling) have now been completed in the North Zone, spanning 1,100 metres of strike length, with intersections of good grade mineralization returned in all holes for which the company has received assays.

Hole N015 bisected the Gradeshell (extending above and below the Gradeshell), returning a 292-metre interval of mineralization with copper grades comparable to those from historical drilling.

Holes N016 through N018 targeted areas to the west of, and mostly outside the Gradeshell, intercepting broad intervals of shallow seated mineralization with copper grades comparable to those from historical drilling, indicating a broader, shallower North Zone deposit than previously modelled.

Richard Lock, CEO, commented: “We continue to systematically define and expand the deposit at Santo Tomas. Work focuses on providing a mineral resource to support the upcoming PEA, which is planned for completion in Q1, 2023. To ensure these timelines are met, a fourth drill has been mobilized.”

Drill Hole N015 targeted the 2009 Gradeshell at the current southern extremity of the North Zone drill program. The hole returned intervals of 292 metres of 0.36% Copper Equivalent (CuEq) and 24 metres of 0.25% CuEq.

Drill Hole N015 lies approximately 110 metres south of Drill Hole N010, which returned 311 metres of 0.42% CuEq, and approximately 210 metres south of Drill Hole N008, which returned 328.3 metres of 0.45% CuEq.

Drill Hole N016 targeted the deposit to the west of the Gradeshell at the current northern end of the North Zone drill program, down dip from Drill Holes 11 and 13. The hole returned three main mineralized intervals: 95.4 metres of 0.37% CuEq, 44.7 metres of 0.46% CuEq and 88.7 metres of 0.31% CuEq. Additional shorter intervals were returned at depth below the Gradeshell.

Drill Hole N017 targeted the deposit to the west of the Gradeshell and downdip from Drill Hole N015 at the current southern extremity of the North Zone drill program. Most notably, good mineralization was identified less than 100 m from surface, with the hole returning two main intervals consisting of 63.8 m of 0.37 per cent CuEq and 159.2 m of 0.28 per cent CuEq.

Drill Hole N018 targeted the deposit at the western edge of the Gradeshell in the center of the strike length of the North Zone drill program. The hole returned several shorter intervals, including 21 metres of 0.42% CuEq, 10 metres of 0.68%  CuEq and 42.3 metres of 0.38% CuEq, over approximately 250 metres, of which approximately 175 metres was outside the Gradeshell.

The North Zone drilling program is designed to confirm and expand the 2009 Gradeshell model, with the goal of delineating near-surface mineralization amenable to open-pit mining methods and the reduction of waste rock stripping ratios.

Drilling to date along 1,100 metres of strike length (of which 1,000 metres is along the historically indicated 1,600 metres strike length of the North Zone deposit) has confirmed the NNE strike and moderately westerly dipping geometry of the deposit. Drill results confirm good grade mineralization contained in a gently north-plunging panel that is expressed at surface along the Santo Tomas ridge and extends consistently to about 400-500 metres depth below the ridge, bottoming at approximately sea level.

Drilling in the North Zone to the end of 2022 will focus on supporting a mineral resource estimate by extending confirmation of North Zone mineralization southward along the remaining 600 metres of historical strike length, with targets between the 100-mietre and 600-metre elevation.

Infill definition drilling; definition drilling of newly discovered shallow-seated mineralization located westward and in the hanging wall of the main North Zone deposit.

Successful drilling of the new hanging wall zone will define mineralized tonnage between the Santo Tomas ridge and the Gradeshell, potentially significantly reducing the amount of waste rock stripping required to access North Zone mineralization.

At the South Zone, historical drilling, surface geological mapping and the Dias Geo 3D Induced Polarization survey have defined near-surface mineralization in the South Zone. Historical drilling documents good mineralization that is open to depth at 400 m below surface. The company will commence a drill program targeted at testing the South Zone in 2022.

The company holds a net 73.2% interest in the collective 1,172.9 ha Core Concessions of the Santo Tomas Project in NW Mexico and may increase that majority interest up to an 85.5% interest with a project investment of up to CAD$30 million. The company also holds a 77.5% interest in 8,154.3 hectares of mineral concessions surrounding and adjacent to the Core Concessions (for a total project area of 23,048 acres).