Arizona Sonoran Copper rises on thick Parks-Salyer drill hit

Arizona Sonoran Copper’s (TSX: ASCU) ongoing 32,000-metre infill drill program at its Parks-Salyer (P/S) porphyry copper deposit has delivered an intercept of 217.7 metres grading 1.01% copper.

The robust intersection comes from an additional three drill holes drilled at P/S, following the initial Inferred resource in September of 143.6 million tonnes grading 1% copper for 2.92 million lb. of contained copper.

The drill program continues to target 76-metre centers to generate an indicated mineral resource at the deposit.

According to the company, the infill drilling continues to intersect thick high-grade mineralization, supporting the currently modelled inferred resource statement.

Drilling is expected to continue to the second quarter of 2023.

With 12 holes complete, there remain another 12 holes to drill.

Further metallurgical column test work on the P/S leachable mineralization is underway and is expected to run throughout 2023. Additionally, geotechnical and hydrological studies on P/S have now been started.

New metallurgical column tests have begun at the Cactus deposit, designed to underpin a future bankable feasibility study.

President and CEO George Ogilvie said in a statement Wednesday the company was pursuing completing a combined prefeasibility study in the next 11-17 months.

“The recently issued maiden mineral resource estimate for P/S combined with the resource estimate at Cactus has catapulted the combined projects to a size that would make it the fourth largest independent copper deposit in the U.S. with a total copper resource of 4.9 billion lb. inferred and 1.6 billion lb. indicated.

The company currently holds a total leachable inferred resource inventory – comprising the Cactus open pit and the P/S underground – to 449.9 million tonnes at 0.544% copper for 4.89 billion lb. of copper. The total indicated resource, which only applies to Cactus, remains at 151.8 million tonnes at 0.531% copper for 1.61 billion lb. of the red metal.

Due to the increase in its global mineral resource base, Arizona Sonoran says it will consider the inclusion of oxide and enriched material at P/S in a future pre-feasibility study incorporating both deposits. Future studies would be based on the expanded leachable inventory, heap leaching and SX/EW process methodology.

The company gained 5¢ per share to close at $1.61. It is down 26% over the past 12 months, with a market cap of $145 million.