Sonoro Gold – Value Proposition For The Cerro Caliche Gold Project And The Pathway From Development Towards Production In Mexico
Ken MacLeod, President and CEO of Sonoro Gold Corp (TSXV: SGO) (OTCQB: SMOFF), joins me to review the value proposition for their flagship Cerro Caliche Gold Project, and the exploration and development initiatives to move it into open-pit gold and silver production within ~12 months of receiving their final permit in Mexico.
This 1,400-hectare property confirms a broadly mineralized low-sulphidation epithermal vein structure and over 25 northwest-trending gold mineralized zones along trend and near surface. With only 30% of the property’s identified mineralized zones drilled and assayed, the Company filed an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in March 2023 based on a total 55,360 meters of drilled data, including 498 drill holes, 17 trenches and assays for 53,865 meters of the drilled data.
In October 2023, the Company filed a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) demonstrating the potential viability for a 9-year open pit, heap leach mining operation. Using a gold price of US $1,800 per ounce, the project has an after-tax net present value discounted at 5% (“NPV5”) of US $47.7M and an Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 45%. Using a gold price of US $2,000 per ounce, the project has an after-tax NPV5 of US $77M and an IRR of 63%. We discussed that with precious metals prices so much higher that the project has grown in value considerably, and the Company is working on an updated PEA for Q3 of this year, factoring in the ability to bring in material previously sterilized, and the cost efficiencies of the higher gold and silver prices.
Ken reviews the potential for resource expansion once the mine is in production, funded through organic revenue generation. We also discussed the bench strength and experience of the management team and board, the strong inside ownership and separate the signal from all the media noise as it relates to permitting in Mexico and their anticipated receipt of their MIA for environmental impact later this year.
If you have questions for Ken regarding Sonoro Gold, then please email those into to me at Shad@kereport.com.
