Arizona Sonoran Cactus East Drilling Illustrates Continuity of Grade and Thickness, Drills 270 ft of 1.77% TCu

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. (TSX:ASCU | OTCQX:ASCUF) (“ASCU” or the “Company”) releases an additional 7 drill holes from the Cactus East, Cactus Mine Project infill drilling program. The current drill program is designed at 125 ft (38 m) centres to generate measured mineral resources (see FIGURES 1-7). These results support the previously defined thick and high-grade intercepts outlined within the underground Cactus East resource. Cactus East is located, at depth, immediately to the northeast of the historic Sacaton pit.

Inclusive of both Cactus East and Cactus West, the drilling program (60,000 ft | 18,290 m) from infill to measured is now halfway complete. A total of 16 HQ drill holes (31,817.7 ft | 9,700 m) have been drilled into the core of the Cactus East orebody, with assays pending on 9 holes. Due to the success of exploration at Parks/Salyer, with similar grades and greater thicknesses than Cactus East, the two available drill rigs have been prioritized to drilling the 500 ft spaced Exploration Target program at Parks/Salyer. Drilling to complete the infill drilling program at Cactus will resume later in the year as well as an expansionary drill program (12,000 ft | 3,660 m).

Highlights:

• Thick and high-grade intercepts consistent with the previous wider spaced drilling intercepts and resource model interpretation have been intercepted
• ECE-072: 270.4 ft (82.4 m) @ 1.77% TCu, 1.66% Cu TSol (enriched)
  • Incl. 100.0 ft (30.5 m) @ 3.45% TCu, 3.36% Cu TSol
• ECE-069: 247.0 ft (75.3 m) @ 1.73% TCu, 1.63% Cu TSol (oxide)
  • Incl. 90 ft. (27.4 m) @ 2.99% TCu, 2.80% Cu TSol
  • And. 388 ft (118 m) @ 1.24% TCu, 1.13% Cu TSol (enriched)
  • Incl. 127 ft. (38.7 m) @ 1.91% TCu, 1.72% Cu TSol
• ECE-073: 344.0 ft (104.9 m) @ 1.07% TCu, 0.82% Cu TSol (enriched)
  • Incl. 101.7 ft (31.0 m) @1.95% TCu, 1.89% Cu TSol
• ECE-058: 120.0 ft (36.6 m) @ 2.01% TCu, 1.96% Cu TSol (oxide)
  • And 210.0 ft (64 m) @ 1.05% TCu, 0.76% Cu TSol (enriched)
• ECE-063: 317.0 ft (96.6 m) @ 0.61% TCu, 0.46% Cu TSol (oxide)

George Ogilvie, Arizona Sonoran President and CEO commented, “These infill drill holes into the core of the deposit are showing consistently high porphyry copper grades with good thicknesses. Results illustrate the continuity required for an underground bulk mining scenario at Cactus East that will be contemplated in the impending PFS. Future work at Cactus East will be supported by the improved drill density to the measured category, including advanced technical studies.”

Drilling Program Recap
Drilling completed to date focused on further definition of the northeast trending high-grade core of Cactus East, demonstrating continuity of grade and thickness of oxide and enriched mineralized zones in the core area. Cactus East infill drilling results are consistent with previously drilled results and show thick, high-grade intercepts of both oxide and enriched mineralization. The mineralization shows similar grade and mineralization characteristics to Parks/Salyer, although it is contained within a more restricted horst fault block structure. These intercepts, and their spatial continuity, continue to support the previous resource model and will provide valuable infill data with tighter spacing, for more localized mine design work and overall mine planning.

As shown in Table 1, holes ECE-058 and ECE-069 show solid intercepts of higher-grade oxide mineralization adjacent to historic hole S-37 while adjacent holes from this program show continuity of thickness and grade in the underlying enriched zone over 750 ft (230 m) of strike. ECE-069, averaging over 1.30% CuTSol, has a combined ore zone thickness of 635 ft (200 m). This is comparable to holes reported recently (February 10, 2022 PR) at Parks/Salyer. Drill holes with pending assay results test extensions of this reported mineralization to the northwest and southeast.

TABLE 1: Drilling Highlights

HOLE	ZONE	Feet			Metres			TCu	Cu TSol
		from	to	length	from	to	length	%	%
ECE-058	oxide	1,348.0	1,468.0	120.0	410.9	447.4	36.6	2.01	1.96
	including	1,368.0	1,448.0	80.0	417.0	441.4	24.4	2.35	2.32
	enriched	1,488.0	1,698.0	210.0	453.5	517.6	64.0	1.05	0.76
	including	1,488.0	1,558.0	70.0	453.5	474.9	21.3	1.56	1.42
	primary	1,698.0	1,888.0	190.0	517.6	575.5	57.9	0.38	0.04
ECE-063	oxide	1,368.0	1,685.0	317.0	417.0	513.6	96.6	0.61	0.46
	including	1,567.4	1,647.0	79.6	477.7	502.0	24.3	1.35	0.95
	enriched	1,685.0	1,740.4	55.4	513.6	530.5	16.9	0.88	0.80
	primary	1,740.4	1,875.4	135.0	530.5	571.6	41.1	0.53	0.06
	including	1,834.2	1,861.0	26.8	559.1	567.2	8.2	0.73	0.05
ECE-064	oxide	1,327.9	1,346.0	18.1	404.7	410.3	5.5	0.26	0.23
	oxide	1,685.2	1,715.0	29.8	513.6	522.7	9.1	2.00	1.92
	enriched	1,715.0	1,826.4	111.4	522.7	556.7	34.0	1.43	1.30
	including	1,715.0	1,768.0	53.0	522.7	538.9	16.2	2.01	1.87
	primary	1,826.4	1,883.5	57.1	556.7	574.1	17.4	0.47	0.05
ECE-069	oxide	1,153.0	1,400.0	247.0	351.4	426.7	75.3	1.73	1.63
	including	1,275.0	1,365.0	90.0	388.6	416.1	27.4	2.99	2.80
	enriched	1,400.0	1,788.0	388.0	426.7	545.0	118.3	1.24	1.13
	including	1,400.0	1,527.0	127.0	426.7	465.4	38.7	1.91	1.72
	and	1,557.0	1,648.0	91.0	474.6	502.3	27.7	1.70	1.61
	primary	1,788.0	1,871.1	83.1	545.0	570.3	25.3	0.37	0.03
ECE-070	oxide	1,259.6	1,349.0	89.4	383.9	411.2	27.2	1.35	1.31
	including	1,295.2	1,335.0	39.8	394.8	406.9	12.1	2.52	2.46
	enriched	1,349.0	1,432.0	83.0	411.2	436.5	25.3	1.97	1.87
	including	1,349.0	1,369.0	20.0	411.2	417.3	6.1	3.53	3.33
	and	1,398.0	1,422.0	24.0	426.1	433.4	7.3	3.06	2.95
	enriched	1,480.0	1,708.0	228.0	451.1	520.6	69.5	0.80	0.69
	including	1,510.0	1,570.0	60.0	460.2	478.5	18.3	1.45	1.35
	primary	1,708.0	1,928.0	220.0	520.6	587.7	67.1	0.43	0.05
ECE-072	oxide	1,490.2	1,581.1	90.9	454.2	481.9	27.7	0.78	0.74
	enriched	1,600.0	1,870.4	270.4	487.7	570.1	82.4	1.77	1.66
	including	1,600.0	1,700.0	100.0	487.7	518.2	30.5	3.45	3.36
	primary	1,870.4	2,037.4	167.0	570.1	621.0	50.9	0.43	0.05
ECE-073	enriched	1,453.0	1,797.0	344.0	442.9	547.7	104.9	1.07	0.82
	including	1,475.3	1,577.0	101.7	449.7	480.7	31.0	1.95	1.89
	primary	1,797.0	2,083.0	286.0	547.7	634.9	87.2	0.55	0.08
	including	1,797.0	1,917.0	120.0	547.7	584.3	36.6	0.69	0.10

1.	Intervals are presented in core length and are drilled with vertical or near vertical dip angles.
2.	Drill assays assume a mineralized cut-off grade of 0.1% CuT reflecting the potential for heap leaching in the case of Oxide and Enriched, or in the case of Primary material to provide typical average grades. Holes were terminated below the basement fault.
3.	Assay results are not capped. Intercepts are aggregated within geological confines of major mineral zones.
4.	True widths are not known.

Table 2: Drilling details

Hole	Easting (m)	Northing (m)	Elevation (ft)	TD (ft)	Azimuth	Dip
ECE-058	424,361.0	3,647,091.3	1,510.3	1,903.0	0	-90
ECE-063	424,355.6	3,647,019.4	1,509.3	1,976.3	0	-90
ECE-064	424,319.5	3,646,978.9	1,509.4	1,924.3	0	-90
ECE-069	424,241.3	3,646,963.4	1,493.0	1,878.8	360	-81
ECE-070	424,150.3	3,647,017.6	1,490.0	1,948.0	0	-90
ECE-072	424,243.6	3,646,864.7	1,495.1	2,055.0	330	-81
ECE-073	424,166.5	3,646,863.4	1,464.6	2,103.0	0	-90

Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Drilling completed on the project in 2020 and 2021 was supervised by on-site ASCU personnel who prepared core samples for assay and implemented a full QA/QC program using blanks, standards, and duplicates to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. The samples were sealed on site and shipped to Skyline Laboratories in Tucson AZ for analysis. Skyline’s quality control system complies with global certifications for Quality ISO9001:2008.

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed and verified by Allan Schappert – CPG #11758, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101– Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Links from the Press Release
FIGURES 1-7: https://arizonasonoran.com/projects/cactus-mine-project/press-release-images/
P/S Exploration Target announced Feb 10, 2022: https://arizonasonoran.com/news-releases/arizona-sonoran-drills-595-ft-181.4-m-of-1.29-cut-at-parks-salyer-and-increases-existing-private-land-package/

Neither the TSX nor the regulating authority has approved or disproved the information contained in this press release.

About Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (www.arizonasonoran.com | www.cactusmine.com)
ASCU’s objective is to become a mid-tier copper producer with low operating costs, develop the Cactus Project that could generate robust returns for investors, and provide a long term sustainable and responsible operation for the community and all stakeholders. The Company's principal asset is a 100% interest in the Cactus Project (former ASARCO, Sacaton mine) which is situated on private land in an infrastructure-rich area of Arizona. Contiguous to the Cactus Project the Company is also exploring on its 100% owned Park Salyer property that could allow for a phased expansion of the Cactus Mine once it becomes a producing asset. The Company is led by an executive management team and Board which have a long-standing track record of successful project delivery in North America complemented by global capital markets expertise.

Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of ASCU to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; results of exploration programs; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, projected cash operating costs, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals.

Although ASCU has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and ASCU disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.