Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) believes a 177-metre drill hit grading 1.1 g/t gold equivalent could flip the Bramaderos Project in Ecuador on its head.
The explorer has uncovered a high-grade gold and silver zone during drilling outside the resource at the asset in the country's south, underpinning a material precious metal discovery.
Bramaderos’ large-scale Limon target (home to the 177-metre hit) is just 2.7 kilometres from the 2.7-million-ounce gold equivalent resource at Brama-Alba and given its proximity to high-grade gold, Sunstone has earmarked the prospect for further drill testing.
Overall, the company believes the Limon discovery reinforces its multi-deposit vision, highlighting Bramaderos’ high-grade resource growth potential.
“Every potential” for 10-million-ounce district
Bramaderos’ conceptual exploration target is estimated between 3.3 million ounces and 8.6 million ounces of gold equivalent but the tonnage and grade are slated for upgrades in light of this result.
Sunstone managing director Malcolm Norris called the Limon discovery a phenomenal result, noting it could have a substantial impact on the total resource, the overall grade and the upfront development options at Bramaderos.
“The widths of gold and silver from surface, the high grades and the visible gold show that this is an exceptional mineralised system,” he summarised.
“The shallow and higher grades allow us to contemplate development options that may include higher grade starter pits and supports our view that Bramaderos has every potential to be a 10-million-ounce district with multiple deposits within 4 kilometres of one another.”
Some of the best assays from Limon include:
- 176.7 metres at 1.1 g/t gold equivalent (0.97 g/t gold and 10.1 g/t silver) from 6.8 metres, including 15 metres at 4 g/t gold equivalent (3.9 g/t gold, 7.7 g/t silver) from 81.2 metres and 1.7 metres at 22.3 g/t gold equivalent (22.2 g/t gold, 6.8 g/t silver) from 81.2 metres; and
- 26 metres at 2.3 g/t gold equivalent (2 g/t gold, 36.2 g/t silver), from 157.5 metres.
Recoveries are estimated at 89% for gold and 60% for silver based on metallurgical studies from Bramaderos and Sunstone believes all elements included in the metal equivalents calculation have reasonable potential to be recovered and sold.
High gold and silver samples were found in hydrothermal breccias in hole LMDD017.
One drilling rig is currently operating at Limon, drilling hole LMDD020. This hole has moved through a shallow epithermal zone and is now drilling deeper, targeting an underlying porphyry system.
Further holes have been planned to follow up on hole LMDD017, which uncovered the 177-metre hit. The rig will commence this program once drilling at LMDD020 concludes.
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