Mr. Kenneth MacLeod reports

SONORO GOLD SECURES ALL SURFACE RIGHTS FOR THE PROPOSED CERRO CALICHE MINING OPERATION

Through its wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera Mar De Plata SA de CV (MMP), Sonoro Gold Corp. has secured all of the surface rights necessary for its Cerro Caliche gold project in Sonora, Mexico, through a lease agreement.

Under Mexican law, mineral rights are separate from surface rights and concession holders are required to secure land access directly from landowners. The surface rights lease for the Cerro Caliche project is a critical milestone and a requirement for the construction and operation of the proposed gold mine.

Surface rights lease highlights:

• Exclusive surface rights to the Rancho El Cerro Prieto property covering 3,908 hectares, including the 15 contiguous Cerro Caliche mining concessions covering a total area of 1,350 hectares. Surface rights will expand to 5,007 hectares on Sept. 1, 2028.
• Exclusive access for the exploration, development and extraction of mineral deposits as well as the construction of related mining infrastructure;
• Initial term of 12.5 years, with the option to renew for an additional 12.5-year term;
• MMP now controls 100 per cent of the surface and mineral rights for the Cerro Caliche project area, thereby substantially derisking the continuing development of the Cerro Caliche gold project.

"This agreement represents a pinnacle achievement in our business strategy to advance Cerro Caliche into production to generate cash flow and to fund ongoing exploration, potentially expanding the resource and proposed mining operation," stated Kenneth MacLeod, president and chief executive officer of the company. He added: "We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with the Cerro Prieto Ranch owner since acquiring the project in 2018 and securing the exclusive surface rights for the Cerro Caliche concessions and the surrounding lands strengthens our objective to now move from exploration to production."

The surface rights lease has a term of up to 25 years, comprising an initial term of 12.5 years (the initial term), together with an option exercisable by the company to renew the lease for an additional 12.5 years (the renewal term). The lease payments for the initial term are as follows:

• Year 1: $3,125,000 (U.S.), plus a one-time issuance of five million Sonoro common shares;
• Year 2: $6.25-million (U.S.);
• Year 3: $6.25-million (U.S.).

An initial payment of $1-million (U.S.) has been made.

The lease payments for the renewal term, payable if the company exercises its renewal option, are as follows:

• Year 13: $3,125,000 (U.S.);
• Year 14: $6.25-million (U.S.);
• Year 15: $6.25-million (U.S.).

The Cerro Caliche project is in the final permitting stage for a proposed open-pit, heap-leach mining operation following four drilling campaigns and extensive technical and environmental studies. With only 30 per cent of the project's identified mineralized zones drilled and assayed to date, the company plans to develop an initial 12,000-tonne-per-day operation to generate cash flow for further exploration of the remaining 70 per cent of the mineralized area for potential resource and mine expansion.

About the Cerro Caliche gold project

Exploration to date at the 1,400-hectare property confirms a broadly mineralized low-sulphidation epithermal vein structure and over 25 northwest-trending gold-mineralized zones along trend and near surface. With only 30 per cent of the property's identified mineralized zones drilled and assayed, the company filed an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) in March, 2023, based on a total 55,360 metres of drilled data, including 498 drill holes, 17 trenches and assays for 53,865 metres of the drilled data.

In October, 2023, the company filed a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) demonstrating the potential viability of a nine-year open-pit, heap-leach mining operation. Using a gold price of $1,800 (U.S.) per ounce, the project has an after-tax net present value discounted at 5 per cent (NPV5) of $47.7-million (U.S.) and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 45 per cent. Using a gold price of $2,000 (U.S.) per ounce, the project has an after-tax NPV5 of $77-million (U.S.) and an IRR of 63 per cent.

The PEA was prepared in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 by D.E.N.M. Engineering Ltd. and Micon International Ltd., with confirmation of the applicable resource estimates prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc.

Qualified person statement

Stephen Kenwood, PGeo, a director of Sonoro, is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has read and approved this news release.

About Sonoro Gold Corp.

Sonoro Gold is a publicly listed exploration and development company holding the development-stage Cerro Caliche project and the exploration-stage San Marcial project in Sonora state, Mexico. The company has highly experienced operational and management teams with proven records for the discovery and development of natural resource deposits.

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