Sonoro and Northern Empire Expand Hilltop Land Position Through Staking
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 18, 2015) - Sonoro Metals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SMO) ("Sonoro") and Northern Empire Resources Corp. ("Northern Empire") today announced the acquisition through staking of 23,880 acres (9,664 hectares) to expand the Hilltop Gold Project ("Hilltop") located 90 km southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.
Pursuant to an option agreement announced on March 11, 2015, the two companies have expanded the size of Hilltop, from 7,840 acres (3,172 hectares) to an aggregate 31,720 acres (12,836 hectares), through claim staking. The new claim block is comprised of 147 - 160 acre State of Alaska claims and 9 - 40 acre State of Alaska claims. The Hilltop block is now contiguous with Northern Empire's Richardson Property to the east.
John Robins, Northern Empire's Chairman stated. "We have effectively quadrupled the size of our land position because of an opportunity identified by our technical team. Hilltop now covers a significant geophysical magnetic and resistivity anomaly generated by a State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey airborne survey completed in 1994 and also consolidates claims covering prospective structural extensions."
Kenneth MacLeod, President & CEO of Sonoro, added, "Through the engagement of Northern Empire as the operator of the Hilltop project, we have been able to expeditiously capitalize on the extensive regional knowledge of the Northern Empire technical team to secure the compelling exploration targets surrounding the original Hilltop property."
About the Hilltop Gold Project
Northern Empire holds a 100% interest in the block of claims forming the Hilltop project within the broader Richardson Gold District (excluding placer gold). Hilltop is an exploration stage gold project located 90 km southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and 70 km northwest of Delta Junction in east-central interior Alaska. Hilltop is located approximately 75 km from Sumitomo's Pogo mine (4.973 million ounces at 12.5 g/t gold; www.sumitomocorp.co.jp/files/topics/25649_ext_31_en_0.pdf) and 135 km south of Kinross's Fort Knox mine (3.8 million ounces at 0.45 g/t Au; www.kinross.com/operations/operation-fort-knox-alaska-usa.aspx). The 31,720 acre (12,836 hectare) Hilltop property is bordered on the south by the all-weather and paved Richardson Highway. In addition, Hilltop is proximal to both a high power electrical transmission line and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Access into the interior of the property from the Richardson Highway is via a new system of logging roads and trails which makes most points within the Hilltop project area accessible for exploration activities.
To view a map of, the Hilltop project, please visit the Richardson project section of Northern Empire's website at www.northernemp.com/projects/richardson/.
Hilltop Option Agreement
The Letter of Intent between Sonoro and Northern Empire as announced March 11, 2015, is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
To exercise the option and earn its 60% interest in the Hilltop block, Sonoro must spend C$3,000,000 on exploration activities to advance the Hilltop block and issue 1,000,000 Sonoro shares to Northern Empire prior to December 31, 2019.
About Sonoro Metals Corp.
Sonoro Metals Corp. is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of exploration-stage properties located in Sonora State, Mexico; Alaska, USA; and British Columbia, Canada. Sonoro has a skilled exploration team in Mexico, headed by Hermosillo-based Chief Geologist Melvin Herdrick, a professional geologist with over 35 years of experience, including 9 years as the Chief Geologist for Phelps Dodge in Mexico from 1994 to 2003 and 5 years as Vice President of Exploration for Pediment Gold Corp. until its takeover by Argonaut Gold Inc. in 2011. Sonoro's technical team in Canada is spearheaded by professional geologist Stephen Kenwood, with over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and development in British Columbia.
Stephen Kenwood, P. Geo. is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has read and takes responsibility for this news release. Readers are cautioned that the presence of mineralization on properties adjacent to or in close proximity to the Hilltop Gold property is not necessarily indicative of alteration and mineralization on the Hilltop Gold property.
On behalf of the Board of Sonoro Metals Corp.
Per: KENNETH MACLEOD, President & CEO
Forward Looking Statement Cautions: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to, among other things, Sonoro's option to acquire and the exploration of the Hilltop Gold Property, located in Alaska. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, the inability of the Company and Northern Empire to settle up on the terms of a definitive option agreement to supersede the LOI, possible, accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.