Arizona Sonoran Copper Company Inc. reported that exploration drilling at the MainSpring property intersected near surface copper mineralization from 4 drill holes. The southern-most MainSpring drill hole, ECM-186, was collared 2,500 ft (762 m) south of the Parks/Salyer deposit and intersected shallow oxide mineralization at a depth of 138 ft (42 m) from surface. In comparison, Parks/Salyer mineralization begins at approximately 550 ft (176 m) at its shallowest, over a footprint of 2,000 ft by 2,500 ft.

The MainSpring property is situated contiguous to the Parks/Salyer Property and within the, privately held by ASCU, Cactus Project in Arizona. Eight of 10 drill holes are now complete within the MainSpring exploration program announced October 30, 2023. Current drilling is testing the near surface extension of mineralization south of the Parks/Salyer deposit across the MainSpring property.

Based on early drilling results, a comprehensive 2024 exploration program is being planned to discover the extents of shallow mineralization to the south and then connect the shallow mineralization to the thick high-grade zones at Parks/Salyer in the north. ASCU signed a Purchase-Sale Agreement to acquire MainSpring?s 523 acres in early 2023. Situated within the Cactus Project and contiguous to the Parks/Salyer deposit, the acquisition improves operational flexibility with respect to infrastructure and site requirements for the re-scoped PFS expected in early First Quarter 2024.

Eight holes totaling 9,648 feet (2,940.7 m) within the 10-hole drill program (12,550 feet | 3,825.2 m) are now complete at MainSpring. Mineralization at MainSpring is interpreted to be the shallow extension of the Parks/Salyer deposit located to the north and the geological structures at MainSpring are similar to that seen at Cactus West. To date, drilling has focused on the shallow crest of a north-dipping horst block that shallows to the south and hosts oxide and enriched mineralization above primary mineralization.

The north-dipping horst gently drops into graben hosting thick zones of enriched and primary mineralization that extend north to the Parks/Salyer deposit.