REG - Orosur Mining Inc - Operational Update

Orosur MiningAnnouncement

04/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 3338Y  Orosur Mining Inc  04 May 2023

 

 

 

Orosur Mining Inc - Operational Update

 

·    Minera Monte Aquila reviewing its position in relation to Anzá.

·    Mapping and sampling at El Pantano enhances prospectivity.

·    Regional sampling results from Ariquemes provide vectors for next
phase.

 

London, May 4th 2023. Orosur Mining Inc. ("Orosur" or the "Company")
(TSXV/AIM:OMI), announces an update on the progress of exploration activities
across its project portfolio.

 

Anzá - Colombia

The Anzá Project ("Project") is an advanced stage exploration project in the
mid-Cauca belt of northern Colombia that plays host to most of that country's
major gold deposits.

 

Anzá comprises a number of contiguous granted exploration titles and
applications totalling roughly 200km(2).

 

Since late 2018, Anzá has been the subject of an Exploration Agreement with
Venture Option ("Exploration Agreement") with Colombian company Minera Monte
Águila ("MMA").  MMA is itself a 50/50 joint venture ("JV") between Newmont
Corporation ("Newmont") (NYSE:NEM, TSX:NEM) and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
("Agnico") (TSX:AEM), and is the Colombian vehicle by which these two
companies jointly exercise their rights and obligations with respect to the
Exploration Agreement over the Project.

 

The first phase of the Exploration Agreement was completed in September 2022,
with MMA spending in excess of US$10m on the Project and in so doing earning
an equity interest of 51%.  MMA subsequently informed the Company of its
intention to progress to Phase 2. This included the payment to the Company of
a US$2m option fee (received in February 2023) and formation of a new mining
company required to crystallise the various ownership stakes.

 

As at December 31, 2022, MMA had already incurred some US$3.65 million in
excess Qualifying Expenditures for Phase 1.  This excess may be carried
forward and credited towards MMA's investment obligation of US$4 million for
the first year of Phase 2.

 

MMA has advised the Company that it has reduced exploration expenditures on
the Project and effectively placed it in care and maintenance. The Company
expects that MMA will continue to focus on protecting the asset and
maintaining positive relationships with local community groups while it
explores options regarding its involvement in the Project.

 

The Company will keep shareholders informed as MMA reaches a decision
regarding their involvement in the Project. The Company has great faith in the
prospectivity of the Anzá Project and stands ready and able to reassume
operatorship of Anzá if that is deemed a viable option.

 

El Pantano - Argentina

The El Pantano Project is an early-stage gold exploration project in Santa
Cruz province, southern Argentina.

 

The El Pantano Project covers nine contiguous licences totalling over 600km(2)
in the prolific Deseado Massif region, roughly 45km from Anglo Gold's Cerro
Vanguardia mining camp.

 

The El Pantano Project is subject to an Exploration & Joint Venture
agreement ("Agreement") with private Argentinean company DESEADO DORADO S.A.S
and its shareholders ("Deseado"), the details of which were announced on
February 15(th) 2022.

 

As announced on March 2(nd), 2023, low level reconnaissance field work has
been ongoing at El Pantano for the current field season since late 2022 and
will continue until roughly mid-May 2023 before ceasing for the winter recess.

 

These work programs are focussed on geological mapping, soil and rock chip
sampling, and ground magnetic surveys.  As a largely untouched, grass-roots
project, these programs were designed to collect the necessary underlying base
data to confirm the prospectivity of the project, develop the exploration
model and to begin the process of defining targets for the next phase of work
after the winter recess.

 

Thus far, the results of these programs have exceeded the Company's
expectations and El Pantano has the potential to develop into a large scale
gold exploration project.

 

As noted in March 2023, Company geologists and a specialist structural geology
consultant were invited to visit Newmont's Cerro Negro gold project, as it was
felt by various visitors that El Pantano bore many similarities to Cerro
Negro, both in geology and geographic scale.  This visit provided substantial
guidance to the Company's exploration team to allow more efficient targeting
over El Pantano's large area.

 

Most of the gold/silver deposits of the Deseado Massif region are of the
low-sulphidation epithermal style. In particular, there is a close correlation
to major crustal scale fractures related to the breakup of the Pangea
supercontinent and opening of the Atlantic Ocean in the mid to upper Jurassic.
This is often manifested locally as major SE-NW rift systems with pervasive
silicification and veining, over tens of kilometres, precisely the features
that are present at El Pantano and which attracted the Company to the project.

 

 

Fig 1.  Low Sulphidation Schematic - Poster by Williams Mata Rimac

 

From an exploration perspective, a key feature is the mechanism by which gold
is precipitated from solution to form low-sulphidation gold deposits, which is
by boiling.  Hot, gold-bearing fluid rising from depth, boils as the binding
pressure of the surrounding host rocks falls below a certain point,
occasionally producing large, and very high-grade gold deposits, as seen at
Cerro Negro, that are constrained to a particular vertical level of the
epithermal system (the boiling zone).

 

The quartz vein systems will then invariably continue upward to the surface,
but have often been stripped of gold, thus producing minimal surface gold
geochemical anomalism.

 

Following the Cerro Negro visit, Orosur's geologists recognised that much of
the modern-day surface across El Pantano sits at a high level in the
epithermal system, above any boiling zone, and therefore gold anomalism in
soil geochemistry is likely not an effective indicator of mineralising
potential. Instead, greater attention should be paid to the higher-level path
finder elements, in particular mercury (Hg) and Arsenic (As), as well as
textural variations in quartz veins and surrounding silicification that
provide guidance as to the level within the system.

 

Exploration programs were modified on this basis with  positive results
achieved.

 

Ground magnetic surveys have been ongoing for several months using in house
crews and equipment.  Magnetic surveys have proven a fast and effective
method for defining the primary structural corridors in the prospect area and
this work will continue for several more weeks.  Some preliminary
interpretations have been undertaken, in advance of more detailed work once
the survey is complete, and demonstrate that the project is dominated by a
very large, NW-SW rift system, exactly as predicted by the local mineral
system model.

 

Fig 2. Ground magnetic surveys with Au, Hg and As anomalism

 

 

Fig 3.  Structural features with Au, Hg and As anomalism, and vein swarms

 

Mapping and ground magnetic surveys have identified a major NW-SE structural
corridor over 20km long and 5km wide, with large areas of silicification,
alteration and geochemical anomalism over large areas. Gold anomalism in soils
is evident in the NW end of the main structure, suggesting this area is
somewhat lower in the epithermal system, while the SE end shows significant Hg
and As anomalism, suggesting a higher level.

A large section of the central part of the main structure covering more than
10km is not suited to soil geochemistry due to being covered by river
sediments and recently transported cretaceous cover. Magnetic data however
shows the main structure continues uninterrupted under this thin cover.

 

Mapping to the north of the main structure has so far identified over 70
quartz veins over an area in excess of 20km(2), with textures indicative of
cooler temperatures, fully consistent with the model of a very large
low-sulphidation epithermal system. Mapping of this vein field continues with
more being identified on a daily basis.

 

Future Work

As noted, mapping, sampling and magnetic surveying will continue until roughly
mid-May 2023 before the winter closure, with final assay results and magnetic
survey data then due in June.

 

Upon receipt of all data, a detailed process of compilation and interpretation
will be undertaken to better understand the mineral system and to plan work
programs for after the winter recess in September 2023.

 

The required environmental permit process for drilling will also commence in
May 2023 such that drilling will then be able to be undertaken later in 2023
should appropriate targets be identified.

 

Ariquemes - Brazil

The Ariquemes Project is a large-scale Tin (and associated metals) exploration
project in Rondonia State, Brazil, entirely within the world class Ariquemes
Tin Field.  The project comprises a large number of granted licences and
applications that in total cover more than 3,000km(2), representing the
largest land holding in this key mining district.

 

Ariquemes is a JV with Canadian listed Meridian Mining UK (TSXV: MNO), whereby
Orosur has the right to earn a 75% stake in the project by investing US$4m in
exploration over a four-year period in two stages.

 

While the Ariquemes district is a major Tin producing region, most production
is sourced from local cooperatives or artisanal producers and as such little
or no modern exploration has ever been undertaken across the wider district.

 

The Company was therefore required to start exploration work at the regional
scale, collecting wide spaced stream sediment samples across the entire
3,000km(2) area as the first pass to identify key areas for follow up.

 

To avoid issues with access to farming land, samples were taken using the 10km
x 5km road network across much of the area. During the campaign, over 400
samples were taken, and then assayed for a wide variety of elements, including
Tin, Niobium, Titanium and a suite of rare earths.

 

 

 

 

Fig 4. Tin in streams

 

Fig 5. Niobium in streams

 

 

Fig 5, Rare earths in streams

 

Results from the reconnaissance program (Figs 4,5 and 6) demonstrate
widespread Tin, Niobium and rare earth anomalies across the wider area, with
most Tin interest  focussed on the southern portion and a lease package to
the far east of the area.

 

In general, Tin and Niobium are often found and exploited together given they
derive from the same source rocks, however the above data demonstrates a
transition from Tin dominance in the southern areas to Niobium dominance in
the north - a fact that was anecdotally know by local miners.  The two metals
are roughly similar in pricing structure and as such the Company will examine
commercial opportunities in both.

 

Rare earths on the other hand are not always correlated and there are several
areas of interest in the centre of the exploration that will be examined
further.

 

Future Plans

Stream sediment sampling is largely a qualitive method due to the inherent
uncertainty  in how minerals are concentrated in drainage systems. However,
it is an efficient method to cover large areas quickly.

 

Areas of substantial metal anomalism that have been subsequently identified,
will now be followed up by more direct, quantitative exploration methods in
the coming months.  These will include detailed mapping, soil and rock chip
sampling and auger drilling of metal bearing drainages.

 

For efficiency, this work will be done by the Company's exploration teams
during the winter recess in Argentina.

 

Orosur CEO Brad George commented:

 

"We respect MMA's decision to reassess Anzá and fully understand the complex
dynamics and priorities of companies of that size, especially in light of
recent mergers. Orosur however sees a tremendous potential at Anzá and would
welcome the opportunity to get back into the driver's seat if that option is
viable. In the meantime, our other projects are growing in stature and
positioning us well as a diversified explorer."

 

 

For further information, visit www.orosur.ca (http://www.orosur.ca) , follow
on twitter @orosurm or contact:

 

Orosur Mining Inc.

Louis Castro, Chairman,

Brad George, CEO

info@orosur.ca

Tel: +1 (778) 373-0100

 

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP - Nomad & Joint Broker

Jeff Keating / Kasia Brzozowska

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3 470 0470

 

Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd - Joint Broker

Andy Thacker/James Pope

Tel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050

 

Flagstaff Communications and Investor Communications

Tim Thompson

Mark Edwards

Fergus Mellon

orosur@flagstaffcomms.com

Tel: +44 (0)207 129 1474

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the
Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated
into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the
publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'),
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that
term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

 

 

 

About Orosur Mining Inc.

 

Orosur Mining Inc. (TSX: OMI; AIM: OMI) is a minerals explorer and developer
focused on identifying and advancing projects in South America. The Company
operates in Colombia, Argentina and Brazil. It has discontinued operations in
Uruguay.

 

 

 

Qualified Persons Statement

The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed and verified by
Mr. Brad George, BSc Hons (Geology and Geophysics), MBA, Member of the
Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG), CEO of Orosur Mining Inc. and a
qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

 

Orosur Mining staff follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures
to ensure that sampling techniques and sample results meet international
reporting standards.

 

Anzá

Drill core is split in half over widths that vary between 0.3m and 2m,
depending upon the geological domain. One half is kept on site in the Minera
Anzá core storage facility, with the other sent for assay.

 

Industry standard QAQC protocols are put in place with approximately 20% of
total submitted samples being blanks, repeats or Certified Reference Materials
(CRMs).

 

Samples are sent to the Medellin preparation facility of ALS Colombia Ltd, and
then to the ISO 9001 certified ALS Chemex laboratory in Lima, Peru.

 

30-gram nominal weight samples are then subject to fire assay and AAS analysis
for gold with gravimetric re-finish for overlimit assays of >10g/t.
ICP-MS Ultra-Trace level multi-element four-acid digest analyses is also
undertaken for such elements as silver, copper, lead and zinc, etc.

 

Gold intersections are reported using a lower cut-off of 0.3g/t Au over 3m.

 

El Pantano

Initial soil sample lines at El Pantano varied from 500m to 1km spacing with
infill lines located at 120m spacing in areas of anomalism. Samples were taken
at 20m intervals along these lines.

 

Samples were taken at depths of 30 cm to 60 cm below the surface,
corresponding to the local equivalent of the B Horizon. This layer of
silt-clay is thought to contain the highest accumulation of metals commonly
used in mineral prospecting.

 

Shallow material such as ashes and rock fragments were removed from the area
before collecting samples. Manual tools were used to reach the silt-clay
level, with sample weights varying from 1.5 to 2.0 kg. Samples were then sent
to an ALS Chemex preparation facility in Santa Cruz province for preparation
and thence to the ISO 9001 certified  ALS Chemex laboratory in Lima Peru for
assay by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES)
and  Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

 

Ariquemes

Stream sediment samples were taken at specific locations where drainages
intersected local roads, on roughly a 10km x 5km spacing. Samples of
approximately 20 litres were gathered at a depth of around 70cm to 1 m. To
avoid anthropogenic contamination, the sampling points were located at a
distance from the roads. The collection process was carried out using a
post-hole digger, and samples were then packaged in plastic bags, sealed, and
labelled accordingly. Collected samples underwent a concentration process by
panning to produce a concentrate of heavy minerals.

 

Samples were then sent to the SGS laboratory in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerias
State for assay by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy
(ICP OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).

 

 

 

Forward Looking Statements

 

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this
news release constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of
applicable securities laws, including but not limited to the "safe harbour"
provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and are based on expectations estimates and projections as of the date of
this news release.

 

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the exploration plans
in Colombia and the funding from Monte Águila of those plans, Monte
Águila´s decision to continue with the Exploration Agreeement, the formation
of a new mining company or mining venture to hold the project, the ability for
Loryser to implement the Creditor´s Agreement successfully in Uruguay and
other events or conditions that may occur in the future. The Company's
continuance as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to obtain
adequate financing, to reach profitable levels of operations and to reach a
satisfactory implementation of the Creditor´s Agreement in Uruguay. These
material uncertainties may cast significant doubt upon the Company's ability
to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of
business and accordingly the appropriateness of the use of accounting
principles applicable to a going concern. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.
Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties including,
but not limited, those as described in Section "Risks Factors" of the MDA and
the Annual Information Form. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events and such forward-looking statements, except to the
extent required by applicable law.

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