Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) has expanded the size of its Limon gold-silver discovery at the Bramaderos Project in southern Ecuador, supporting its plan to establish a near-surface resource with a view to open pit mining.
High-grade drilling results have been returned from a 1,500-metre drilling program and a significant new mineralised zone has been defined on the south side of the Central Shoot.
Central Shoot results
The results from hole LMDD047 are particularly encouraging because they define the new zone, which was suggested by previous drilling but is now better defined and understood.
Results from LMDD047 include 21.5 metres at 1.51 g/t gold and 6.9 g/t silver (1.59 g/t gold equivalent) from 238.5 metres; with high-grade zones including 4.6 g/t gold and 800 g/t silver over 0.8 metres from 27 metres.
These results are within a very broad intersection of 246 metres of gold and silver grading 0.53 g/t gold equivalent from 14 metres.
Cross section along drill holes LMDD046 and 047 showing new shallow mineralisation on the south (left hand side) side of the previously identified main Central Shoot in LMDD026.
The latest assays extend the Central Shoot mineralisation vertically above and below previous drilling and define new mineralised areas immediately south of the Central Shoot.
Additionally, ongoing infill and expansion soil sampling has helped define new target areas, returning a new soil sample of greater than 3 g/t gold about 250 metres east of the Central Shoot.
Western Target (NYSE:TGT) results
Sunstone also drilled two shallow holes (LMDD044 and LMDD045) into the Western Target, intersecting narrow intervals of gold within broad silver anomalism from surface. Results featured gold and silver intersections that included high-grade intervals and broad lower-grade intervals from near the surface.
Although the zone of very high-grade gold in surface trenching was not intersected, the results from shallow drilling allow for a reinterpretation of the structural model and follow-up drilling will be undertaken.
Sunstone notes that both target areas delivered strong gold responses over long intervals hosted in breccias and have helped to significantly improve the geological model for this area of mineralisation.
Drill holes LMDD048 through to 052 are now being drilled to increase the footprint of mineralisation at the Central Shoot, while holes LMDD053 and 054 will test an interpreted southeast extension of the mineralised domain.
Large gold-silver footprint
Sunstone managing director Patrick Duffy said the latest results continued to expand the size of the Limon discovery and showed the strong potential for ongoing growth.
“We are creating value with virtually every drill hole because we continue to expand the known mineralisation and increase our understanding of the Limon system,” Duffy said.
“These results further demonstrate the true scale and geometry of the gold-silver system and will help underpin a maiden resource estimate at Limon.
“We know we have established a large, mineralised gold-silver footprint, and defining a new mineralised zone on the south side of the Central Shoot continues to show how the Limon mineralisation continues to grow.
“The widths, grades and very shallow nature of the mineralisation all augur very well for an inaugural resource and open pit mining scenarios that will complement the Bramaderos porphyry discoveries.”
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