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Oroco Resource Corp

Oroco Resource Corp to start Phase Two Metallurgical Tests

When a company has good assets there is little point in dilly dallying. That appears to be the case with Canadian Venture and Frankfurt listed Oroco Resource Corp (TSX.V: OCO, Frankfurt: 0R6). On the heels of its Phase Two field programme, Oroco has begun its preliminary mine planning and a second phase of metallurgical testing at the Cerro Prieto Project. The company will shortly begin an environmental base line study.

The location of Cerro Prieto makes it a particularly interesting project. The project is located in Sonora State, Mexico, which is known for gold and silver mining. For instance, Mexico’s biggest gold mine, La Herradura in Sonora state is owned and operated as a joint venture between Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) and Mexican mining conglomerate Industrias Penoles.

Initial metallurgical studies conducted concurrent with the 2008 Phase One exploration programme yielded 85% to 92% recovery of gold from bottle roll tests. In the past week the Company has collected two 250 kilogram metallurgical samples from the Cerro Prieto oxide zone from holes drilled in 2008. These are the first of six test samples to be collected along the two kilometre strike length of the mineralized zone outlined to date through trenching and drilling.

The first two samples collected are from holes drilled in 2008 between Sections 150N and 650N. One sample encompasses the zone between the surface and a depth of 150 meters which, in general, contains higher gold content, and the second from a depth of 150 meters to near the bottom of the oxide zone at approximately 300 meters depth from surface. The remaining four samples will be collected upon the completion of the current drill program. Two samples will be collected from similar depths between Sections 750N and 1350N and another two samples between Section 1350N and the northern end of the mineralized zone.

The Company has also initiated metallurgical testing to assess the amenability of the ore to the leaching of zinc, silver and lead using AmmLeach technology. AmmLeach is a proprietary ammonia-based process developed by MetalLeach of Western Australia. AmmLeach first sent a sub-sample of the ore sample for head assay and mineralogical identification. Preliminary results are expected shortly and will determine whether more extensive testing is warranted.

Moose Mountain Technical Services, which has been contracted by the Company to provide engineering services, conducted a site visit to the Cerro Prieto to review the setting and gain information necessary to developing a preliminary mining assessment. A preliminary report based on Phase One exploration program data and their recent site visit is expected in the next few weeks. An updated final report will be received once all assays from Phase Two exploration have been received. The Company is also reviewing proposals with respect to completing environmental baseline studies. The Company anticipates that a contract will be let this month.

Craig Dalziel, President of Oroco, expressed his optimism on Oroco’s progress. According to Dalziel the preliminary mine assessment, second phase metallurgical testing, and the environmental baseline studies are all designed to advance the project towards production.

About Oroco
Oroco is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with primary focus on the accelerated development of the gold bearing oxide zones of its Cerro Prieto project, a polymetallic (Au-Ag-Pb-Zn) project in Sonora State, Mexico.  The project consists of the 100% owned, 2,723 ha, San Felix, San Francisco and Cerro Prieto concessions and 4,120 ha of the connecting Argonauta 5 Fraccion 1 concession to which the Company holds an option to purchase.  During the first field season in 2008, the Company drilled 5,975 metres of core and tabled a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate together with the results of a preliminary metallurgical study.