Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) is on a roll as it continues to deliver high-grade gold-silver assays from Limon epithermal target at the Bramaderos Gold-Copper Project in Southern Ecuador, paving the way for a substantial near-surface resource.
The results extend the known mineralisation at Limon and identify a new area of mineralisation 200 metres away, with notable results including:
- 18.5 metres at 0.89 g/t gold and 22.9 g/t silver from 106.5 metres;
- 12.2 metres at 1.59 g/t gold and 13.8 g/t silver from 155 metres, within 209 metres at 0.51g/t gold and 5.7 g/t silver from 6 metres; and
- 35 metres at 0.83 g/t gold and 2 g/t silver from 3 metres.
Furthermore, multiple epithermal targets have been defined across the 1.7-kilometre by 700-metre Limon alteration zone where drilling is ongoing.
Significant gold-silver deposit
Sunstone managing director Malcolm Norris said the strategic importance of a high-grade near-surface gold-silver deposit for the Bramaderos concession could not be over-stated.
“We are increasingly confident that the Limon epithermal system is a significant gold-silver deposit that could support a starter pit opportunity for the large-tonnage Bramaderos porphyry development.
“This system already has significant scale, and it continues to grow.
"The higher-grade central shoot is being defined with increasing confidence and is open in all directions along significant structures.
“The results from LMDD033 represent another breakthrough in our exploration, intersecting more high-grade gold in new structures 200 metres west of the main high-grade zone, and significantly expanding the scale of the opportunity.”
Limon potential
Limon epithermal gold and silver deposit is not included in the December 2022 mineral resource estimate or exploration target at Bramaderos, so its potential to increase both grade and tonnage is considerable.
The Limon target area is 2.7 kilometres northeast of the Brama-Alba-Melonal gold-copper deposits, which host a porphyry MRE of 2.7 million gold equivalent ounces and an exploration target of between 3.3 million and 8.6 million ounces within 255 to 360 million tonnes at a grade between 0.40 and 0.74 g/t gold equivalent.
These results demonstrate the presence of structurally controlled high-grade gold-silver mineralisation extending from the surface to greater than 300 metres depth.