Oroco Resource drills 0.93% CuEq over 352.5 metres at Santo Tomas, Mexico

Oroco Resource Corp. [OCO-TSXV; ORRCF-OTC] reported assay results from drill holes N044 and N045 (1,553 metres of drilling) of its North zone drilling program at its Santo Tomas property, northwestern Mexico.

Highlights: Drill hole N044 (plate NZ-47) returned 352.5 metres of 0.93% CuEq (copper equivalent). Drill hole N045 (plate NZ-47) returned 329.8 metres of 0.5% CuEq.

Richard Lock, CEO, said, “Today’s drill results have hypercharged the enthusiasm levels within the project team at Santo Tomas. While hole N044 is the last hole to be included in our upcoming resource calculations, it is also the best hole drilled on the project to date and augers very well for future development at Santo Tomas.”

The company has now completed its North zone drill program in support of the planned preliminary economic assessment (PEA). The North zone program comprises 47 diamond drill holes and 30,909 metres of drilling. Assay results for holes N044 and N045 are reported here. Assay results for holes N046 and N047 are pending.

The southern portion of the North zone mineralization is blind to surface and lies beneath a blanket of post-mineralization volcanic rock. To access this blind tonnage, the company commissioned a program of drilling with a modified underground drill. Horizontal holes and shallow-dipping holes allowed testing of the southern 400 m of the North zone, at depths 300 metres to 500 metres below surface to the south of hole N038 (plate NZ-49). This area of the North zone has the potential to add significant tonnage to the resource estimate being prepared in support of the planned PEA.

Drilling results for Southern segment of the North zone: All drill holes tested the deposit perpendicular to its structural attitude. Core intervals are within approximately 10% to 20% of true thickness. Assay results and cross-sections through the first 45 North Zone drill holes (29,449 m of drilling), the seven Brasiles zone drill holes (5,116 m) and the 21 South zone drill holes (12,154 m) are available at the company’s website.

N044 intersected 352.5 m of 0.93% CuEq confirming and expanding the Cu >0.30% Gradeshell model (the 2009 Gradeshell) defined in the company;s 2019 Technical Report. Drill hole N044 was collared 100 metres south of N038. Results demonstrate the southward and down dip continuity of the North Zone. The North Zone is approximately 200 metres wider on this section, confirming a southward increase of thickness of mineralization in the western and hangingwall side of the 2009 Gradeshell.

N045 intersected 329.8 metres of 0.50% CuEq demonstrating a down-dip continuation of the North Zone to over 400 m below surface. Significantly, N045 intersected mineralization only 42 metres below surface on the western flank of the Santo Tomas ridge. Modelling of the historical results, the current drilling, and structural analysis has successfully delineated good-grade North Zone mineralization in a gently north-plunging panel beneath the Santo Tomas ridge, extending 1,600 metres along strike to a depth of 400 to 800 m below the surface. Results from N044 and N045 indicate exceptional potential to the southern segment of the North Zone at, and south of, N038. Additional drilling will be required to fully define this area, after the completion of the PEA.

The company holds a net 85.5% interest in the collective 1,172.9 ha Core Concessions of the Santo Tomas Project in NW Mexico. The company also holds an 80% interest in 8,154.3 ha of mineral concessions surrounding and adjacent to the Core Concessions (for a total project area of 23,048 acres).

The project is situated within the Santo Tomas District, which extends from Santo Tomas up to the Jinchuan Group’s Bahuerachi project, approximately 14 km to the northeast. Santo Tomas hosts a significant copper porphyry deposit defined by prior exploration spanning the period from 1968 to 1994. During that time, the property was tested by over 100 diamond and reverse circulation drill holes, totalling approximately 30,000 meters. Based on data generated by these drill programs, a historical Prefeasibility Study was completed by Bateman Engineering Inc. in 1994. The Company has completed its 2021-2023 drill program at Santo Tomas with a total of 48,481 metres drilled in 76 diamond drill holes to date.

The Santo Tomas Project is located within 160 km of the Pacific deep-water port at Topolobampo and is serviced via highway and proximal rail (and parallel corridors of trunk grid power lines and natural gas) through the city of Los Mochis to the northern city of Choix. The property is reached by a 32 km access road originally built to service Goldcorp’s El Sauzal Mine in Chihuahua State.