Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) has identified additional visible gold at the Limon target within its Bramaderos project in Ecuador.
The gold identified in hole LMDD020 — at a depth of 665 metres — bears geological similarities to an earlier hole, LMDD017, which returned 177 metres at 1.1 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold equivalent.
In an announcement at the end of March, Sunstone said the success of hole LMDD017 marked the discovery of a new gold-silver system, which could materially change the broader Bramaderos project.
“The Limon epithermal system could be large in its own right,” Sunstone managing director Malcolm Norris said in this morning’s announcement.
“We are seeing geologically similar styles of mineralisation over a vertical distance of at least 600 metres, and it is open laterally. This greatly expands our area of exploration and increases our confidence that we are onto something significant at Limon.”
Visible gold and mineralisation style in LMDD020 at 665m down hole depth.
Further exploration
Initially, a 2200-metre drilling program had been planned to follow up on the results from hole LMDD017. Though the program has already begun, it has also been expanded to include a second drill rig and additional targets based on the visible gold in hole LMDD020.
The drill rig already on site remains deployed to complete hole LMDD020 while the new rig will follow up on hole LMDD017.
“This could have very significant ramifications for the total resource, the overall grade and the upfront development options at Bramaderos,” Norris added.
“We stand by our objective of discovering a 10-million-ounce gold district with multiple deposits within four kilometres of one another.”
The Bramaderos project
Located in southern Ecuador’s Loja province, the Bramaderos project straddles the Pan American Highway and is close to hydroelectric power, which Sunstone said supports “the economics of potential development opportunities.”
The project is 87.5% owned by Sunstone, with the remaining 12.5% held by SolGold Canada, a subsidiary of London- and Toronto-listed SolGold.
In December last year, Sunstone unveiled an initial mineral resource estimate for the Bramadera project. Though the estimate was limited to the Brama-Alba deposit, 2.7 kilometres south-east of the Limon target, it measured 156 million tonnes at 0.53 g/t — equivalent to 2.7 million ounces of gold.
Article by Oliver Gray
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