REG - SolGold PLC - Espejo Project Update

SolGoldAnnouncement

08/12/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1631W  SolGold PLC  08 December 2023

08 December 2023

SolGold plc

("SolGold" or the "Company")

Espejo Project Update:

High-Potential Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Target Identified

 

SolGold (LSE & TSX: SOLG) is pleased to provide an update on its
exploration activities at the Espejo Project ("Project"), part of the
SolGold-ENAMI strategic exploration alliance ("SEA") in Northern Ecuador. The
Espejo Project, situated approximately 20km northeast of the Company's
Cascabel Project, has identified a promising porphyry Cu-Au-Mo target.

The Espejo Project, positioned within the Northern Andean Copper-Gold Belt, is
located along the Toachi Fault. This fault is a deep-seated, arc-parallel
tectonic structure bisecting the length of the Northern Ecuador Cordillera
Occidental ("NECO") trend. The Project is in close proximity to the Company's
Alpala and Tandayama-America porphyry copper-gold deposits. This region is
renowned for hosting various major exploration projects and notable porphyry
deposits such as SolGold's Cascabel (2.66Bt @ 0.37% Cu, 0.25 g/t Au) and
Llurimagua (1.55Bt @ 0.51% Cu, 10 ppm Mo) (Figure 1).

SolGold's geological team, supported by expert advisors, believes the
under-explored Toachi Fault zone in the NECO trend is a highly prospective
area for the discovery of significant Cu, Cu-Au, and Cu-Mo porphyry deposits,
alongside high-grade epithermal Ag and Au-Ag deposits.

Recent Developments at the Espejo Project

The Espejo Project now includes a newly identified porphyry Cu target at
Anomaly 4, in addition to Anomalies 1, 2, and 3, initially characterized as
three porphyry Cu targets (See News Release
(https://www.sedarplus.ca/csa-party/records/document.html?id=d3aeb363acffa75823701bb0052525238813c6aeb25a8dd8f1693f0b4fbc0361)
dated 28 June 2022 by Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc., now known as SolGold
Canada Inc., ).

Recent exploration at Anomaly 4 has revealed a 2km x 1.5km area with porphyry
intrusive rocks exhibiting Cu, Mo, and Cu/Zn soil geochemical anomalies
(Figures 2-5). These findings include zones of outcropping B-type quartz
veining within intrusive diorite and granodiorite rocks associated with
biotite (± magnetite) potassic alteration overprinted by chlorite-sericite
intermediate argillic alteration. Anomaly 4 also shows classic porphyry
geochemical zonation, alteration, and mineralisation patterns, along with
evidence of related epithermal and skarn Au-Ag systems. Rock sampling has
yielded encouraging results, including significant Au, Ag, and Cu grades in
various mineralized forms.

Rock sampling (Figure 6-9) assays yielded the following results, including
significant grades of Au, Ag, and Cu in various mineralised forms:

·    multi-mineralic Au-Ag-Cu skarn:  4.15 g/t Au, 77.8 g/t Ag, and 2.63%
Cu;

·    multi-mineralic Au-Ag skarn: 34.5 g/t Au and 38.7 g/t Ag;

·    magnetite-pyrite Au skarn: 10.80 g/t Au; and

·    epithermal quartz veins: 36.8 g/t Au.

The four anomalies at Espejo have been delineated through geological mapping
of rock types, alteration, and sulphide minerals and by multi-element soil
geochemistry with rock geochemistry. The mineralisation discovered at Espejo
suggests that anomalies 1-4 represent a cluster of porphyry systems warranting
drill testing. The presence of porphyry-related epithermal and skarn
mineralization suggests a potential source of intrusion or intrusions in the
area.

Statement from the CEO

Scott Caldwell, CEO and President of SolGold Ecuador acknowledged the
significant progress this year and the support from stakeholders:

"The recent identification of another high-potential target at the Espejo
Project, coupled with our discovery at Blanca Nieves, highlights the expertise
and commitment of our geology team. It also emphasizes the patience and trust
shown by our stakeholders in 2023 while we carefully evaluated and prioritized
SolGold's consolidated property list and effectively carried out our
exploration program. My sincere thanks go to our team, whose exceptional work,
combined with the collaborative spirit within SolGold, has been crucial in
advancing our exploration projects. As we look ahead to 2024, we are filled
with energy and optimism about the opportunities that lie before us. With the
team's continued dedication and our shareholders' support, SolGold is
well-positioned to explore these new frontiers and drive further growth."

 

Figure 1: Location of the Espejo Project area, situated occurs along the
Toachi Fault, a deep-seated, arc-parallel tectonic structure that bisects the
length of the Northern Ecuador Cordillera Occidental (NECO) trend, part of the
Northern Andean Copper-Gold Belt. This is a location that hosts several
growing exploration plays and the very large Cascabel (2.66Bt @ 0.37% Cu, 0.25
g/t Au) and Llurimagua (1.55Bt @ 0.51% Cu, 10 ppm Mo) porphyry deposits. This
region promises to deliver significant portions of the copper and gold
necessary to meet the growing global demand over the coming decades.  The
inset diagram illustrates the location of SolGold tenements in Ecuador.

 

 

 

Figure 2: Interpreted geology of the Anomaly 4 area, showing extent of
porphyritic intrusive rocks and the local structural framework (refer to
Figure 1 for the location of Anomaly 4 within the Espejo project area. The
locations for the rock samples are illustrated in Figures 6-9.

Figure 3:  Copper geochemistry in soil, rock and stream sediment at Anomaly 4
shown over a background of RTP magnetics, indicating a generalised outline of
copper anomalism and locations of rock samples A, B, C, D, E and F.

Figure 4: Molybdenum geochemistry in soil, rock and stream sediment at Anomaly
4 over RTP magnetics, showing a generalised outline of molybdenum anomalism
and locations of rock samples A, B, C, D, E and F.

Figure 5: Cu/Zn ratio geochemistry in soil, rock and stream sediment at
Anomaly 4 over a background of RTP magnetics, showing generalised outline of
anomalous Cu/Zn, and locations of rock samples A, B, C, D, E and F.

 

Figure 6: (A) Epidote-garnet-magnetite skarn:  4.15 g/t Au, 77.8 g/t Ag, and
2.63% Cu. (B) Magnetite-pyrite skarn: 10.80 g/t Au, 7.28 g/t Ag.

 

Figure 7: (C) Granodiorite hosting stockwork porphyry B-type quartz veining.
(D) Skarnified andesite, showing epidote and iron-oxide minerals: 6.93 g/t Au.

Figure 8: (E) Skarnised andesite, showing epidote, pyrite, and chalcopyrite:
2.6 g/t Au, 0.14% Cu. (F) Skarnised volcanic rock, showing epidote, magnetite
and pyrite: 34.5 g/t Au, 38.7 g/t Ag.

Figure 9: (G) Skarnised volcanic rock showing epidote, pyrite, magnetite, 36.8
g/t Au, 30.9 g/t Ag.

 

 

Qualified Person:

 

The above information relating to the exploration results is based on data
reviewed by Mr. Santiago Vaca (M.Sc. P.Geo.); Mr. Vaca joined SolGold in 2014
as Chief Geologist for the Cascabel project and is an Ecuadorian geologist
with over 18 years of experience in mineral Exploration and research. Mr Vaca
holds a Professional Geoscientist Certification (P.Geo) granted by the
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) in
Canada. He is a Qualified Person for the purposes of the relevant LSE and TSX
Rules. Mr Vaca consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and
context in which it appears.

 

 

This announcement was approved for release by Scott Caldwell - Chief Executive
Officer.

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed
inside information.

 

CONTACTS

 Scott Caldwell              Tel: +44 (0) 20 3807 6996

 Chief Executive Officer

 Tavistock (Media)           Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

 Jos Simson/Gareth Tredway

 

ABOUT SOLGOLD

SolGold is a leading resources company focused on the discovery, definition
and development of world-class copper and gold deposits and continues to
strive to deliver objectives efficiently and in the interests of shareholders.

The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international
best practices. SolGold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders
while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted
communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace, and minimizing
environmental impact.

SolGold is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange
(LSE/TSX: SOLG).

See www.solgold.com.au (http://www.solgold.com.au) for more information.

 

CAUTIONARY NOTICE

News releases, presentations and public commentary made by SolGold plc (the
"Company") and its Officers may contain certain statements and expressions of
belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which
relate, inter alia, to interpretations of exploration results to date and the
Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or
intentions of the Company's Directors, including the plan for developing the
Project currently being studied as well as the expectations of the Company as
to the forward price of copper. Such forward-looking and interpretative
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important
factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from
such interpretations and forward-looking statements.

Accordingly, the reader should not rely on any interpretations or
forward-looking statements; and save as required by the exchange rules of the
TSX and LSE or by applicable laws, the Company does not accept any obligation
to disseminate any updates or revisions to such interpretations or
forward-looking statements. The Company may reinterpret results to date as the
status of its assets and projects changes with time expenditure, metals prices
and other affecting circumstances.

This release may contain "forward‑looking information". Forward‑looking
information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the
Company's plans for developing its properties. Generally, forward‑looking
information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such
as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state
that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

Forward‑looking information is subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such forward‑looking
information, including but not limited to: transaction risks; general
business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future
prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other
risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors
that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.  There
can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, risks
relating to the ability of exploration activities (including assay results) to
accurately predict mineralization; errors in management's geological modelling
and/or mine development plan; capital and operating costs varying
significantly from estimates; the preliminary nature of visual assessments;
delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental
or other required approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and
costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation;
the global economic climate; fluctuations in commodity prices; the ability of
the Company to complete further exploration activities, including drilling;
delays in the development of projects; environmental risks; community and
non-governmental actions; other risks involved in the mineral exploration and
development industry; the ability of the Company to retain its key management
employees and skilled and experienced personnel; and those risks set out in
the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca
(http://www.sedar.com) . Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward‑looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any
forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities
laws.

The Company and its officers do not endorse, or reject or otherwise comment on
the conclusions, interpretations or views expressed in press articles or
third-party analysis.

 

Quality Assurance / Quality Control on Sample Collection, Security and
Assaying

 

SolGold operates according to its rigorous Quality Assurance and Quality
Control (QA/QC) protocol, which is consistent with industry best practices.

Primary sample collection involves secure transport from SolGold's concessions
in Ecuador, to the ALS certified sample preparation facility in Quito,
Ecuador. Samples are then air freighted from Quito to the ALS certified
laboratory in Lima, Peru where the assaying of drill core, channel samples,
rock chips and soil samples is undertaken. SolGold utilises ALS certified
laboratories in Canada and Australia for the analysis of metallurgical
samples.

Samples are prepared and analysed using 100g 4-Acid digest ICP with MS finish
for 48 elements on a 0.25g aliquot (ME-MS61). For gold and silver, samples are
analysed by fire assay and gravimetric finishing, 30g nominal weight
(AU-GRA21, and Ag-GRA21). The ALS laboratory performance is routinely
monitored using the umpire BUREAU VERITAS certified laboratory, using check
batch rejects for inter-laboratory comparisons.

In order to monitor the ongoing quality of its analytical database, SolGold's
QA/QC protocol encompasses standard sampling methodologies, including the
insertion of certified powder blanks, coarse chip blanks, standards, pulp
duplicates and field duplicates. The blanks and standards are Certified
Reference Materials supplied by Ore Research and Exploration, Australia.

SolGold's QA/QC protocol also monitors the ongoing quality of its analytical
database. The Company's protocol involves Independent data validation of the
digital analytical database including search for sample overlaps, duplicate or
absent samples as well as anomalous assay and survey results. These are
routinely performed ahead of Mineral Resource Estimates and Feasibility
Studies. No material QA/QC issues have been identified with respect to sample
collection, security and assaying.

Reviews of the sample preparation, chain of custody, data security procedures
and assaying methods used by SolGold confirm that they are consistent with
industry best practices and all results stated in this announcement have
passed SolGold's QA/QC protocol.

See www.solgold.com.au (http://www.solgold.com.au) for more information.
Follow us on 'X' @SolGold_plc

 

 

 

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