VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 3, 2022
/CNW/ - Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire) (TSXV:
SMP) (Frankfurt: 5RE) (OTCQB:
SMPEF) is exceptionally pleased to welcome Mr. Larry Kornze as an advisor.
Dale Wallster, CEO of Southern
Empire, stated, "With more than 40 years of gold exploration
expertise, much of it at Barrick Gold Corporation, and an
incredible track record of discovery, Larry brings a wealth of
experience and knowledge to our Southern Empire team. Given his
exceptional understanding of the geology of Carlin-type and other epithermal gold
deposits, Larry will bring particular expertise to the ongoing
exploration and evaluation of our Pedro Gold Project in
México."
Mr. Kornze, and then colleague Keith
Bettles, are credited with the discovery of Barrick Gold
Corporation's (Barrick) 40 million ounce Betze gold deposit at the
Goldstrike Mine Complex on the Carlin Trend in Nevada. Larry was also an integral part of
other Carlin Trend exploration efforts that resulted in the
discovery of Barrick's Miekle, Deepstar, Screamer and Rodeo gold
deposits. At Goldstrike, he also managed reserve development
drilling and resource estimation, ore control guidance, mine
dewatering, and ore body metallurgical studies.
Mr. Kornze retired from Barrick as the General Manager of
Exploration for México and Central
America, and International Evaluations. For Barrick, prior
to working internationally, he held positions including General
Manager - Exploration; Manager - U.S. Exploration; and Chief
Geologist - Operations & New Projects at Barrick Mercur Gold
Mine, Inc. Prior to joining Barrick, he was with Getty Mining Co.
and Newmont Corporation, including Chief Geologist for Newmont
Mining Corporation of Canada.
Mr. Kornze received his Geological Engineering degree from the
Colorado School of Mines and is a NI
43-101 Qualified Person, Member of the Prospectors & Developers
Association of Canada, Member of
the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, & Exploration, Inc., Member
of the Association for Mineral Exploration, Member of the
Geological Society of Nevada, and
serves as a director or advisor to other publicly listed
companies.
As part of Mr. Kornze's appointment as an advisor, Southern
Empire has granted him 100,000 options exercisable at $0.11 per share for a period of five years from
the date of grant.
Pedro Gold Project - Drilling Update
The Pedro Gold Project (Pedro) covers prospective "Basin and
Range" geology including the Caracol formation, which is a
rhythmically interbedded sequence of carbonaceous limestone,
calcareous siltstones, weakly calcareous turbiditic sandstones, and
shales. The Caracol is a favourable host formation for other
well-known ore deposits in México such as Newmont
Corporation's Peñasquito mine and Orla Mining Ltd.'s
Camino Rojo mine.
The HP Breccia, an epithermal gold system at Pedro, was
discovered in 2012 by regional grassroots prospecting that was
directly supervised by David Tupper,
P.Geo., now Southern Empire's Vice President of Exploration.
Historical selected surface grab samples of exposed HP Breccia
returned gold (Au) assay values ranging from background levels to a
maximum of 2.3 grams gold/tonne (g Au/t); with 58 samples greater
than 0.25 g Au/t and 11 samples greater than 1.0 g Au/t).
In 2014, Newmont de Mexico,
S.A. de C.V (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newmont Corporation)
optioned Pedro to specifically explore for Carlin-style gold
deposits that are typically hosted by "dirty limestones",
lithologies such as those of the Caracol formation. Newmont's
limited, 11 drill hole exploration program, although producing
results of up to 5.55 metres (m) of 0.59 g Au/t in hole LP-011-D,
did not meet their expectations and they relinquished their
option.
Southern Empire's belief in the exploration potential of the
Pedro Gold Project led to the recent start of a core drilling
program. Drilling is progressing well, with 3 holes totalling
421 m (~1,381 feet) completed and a
fourth hole, which targets an Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical
anomaly where strongly oxidized, hematitic volcanic cover
rocks have been mapped, started. Core logging of the first 3 holes
(DDH P22-01 through -03) suggests zones of up to 70 m of moderately silicified,
limestone-dominated conglomerate with zones of up to 20 m (core length) exhibiting disseminated and
vein controlled arsenical minerals including orpiment and realgar.
Drill core samples have not yet been submitted to an accredited
geoanalytical laboratory for assay analysis. It is
anticipated that these samples will be sent to the laboratory after
the drill program has ended. Assay results will be published at a
later date after they are received.
Pictures of selected drill core from the current Pedro drill
program are available on the Southern Empire website at
http://www.smp.gold/photos. For further information
concerning the Pedro Gold Project, please see Southern Empire news
releases of July 27, December 21 and December
30, 2021 and January 25,
2022.
In July of 2021, Southern Empire entered into an agreement with
Commander Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: CMD) allowing Southern Empire to
acquire a 100% beneficial interest in the Pedro; mineral tenures
that cover approximately 1,750 hectares ("ha"; 4,324 acres) of
private lands located in Durango state, a mining-friendly state in
north-central México. Pedro is approximately 80 kilometres (km; 50
miles) west-northwest of Torreón, a city with a metropolitan area
population of ~1,500,000.
Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) Data Verification
Statement
Historical samples mentioned in this release were prepared and
analyzed at various times by ALS Chemex at its labs in Chihuahua, Mexico, and Vancouver, Canada. Soils were analyzed as part
of a multi-element inductively coupled argon plasma (ICP) package
using aqua regia digestion with over-limit results being reanalyzed
with assay procedures using ICP-AES. Gold analyses for rocks were
performed on a 30-gram sub-sample by fire assay with an ICP-AES
finish. See Bearing Lithium Corp. news releases dated September 16, 2012 and July 2, 2014, and news releases of Commander
Resources Ltd. dated February 19th,
2020 and March 30th, 2021 and
July 27, 2021, all as posted on
SEDAR.
Qualified Person (QP)
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 northeastern Durango State, México, Southern Empire has an
option to acquire a 100 percent beneficial interest in the
1,750-hectare (4,324-acre) Pedro Gold Project where 2014 drilling
by a subsidiary of Newmont Corporation encountered epithermal gold
mineralization within basal conglomerates of the Ahuichila
formation.
In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of Imperial County, California, Southern Empire
owns 100 percent of the historical gold-producing American Girl
mine property and holds options to acquire a 100 percent 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 percent by MK Gold
Company and 47 percent 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 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 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.