Sunstone (ASX:STM) spurs Ecuadorian discoveries with $6.3m raising

Sunstone Metals has $2 million in the bag from an oversubscribed placement and is looking to raise up to another $4.3m to pick up the pace at its Ecuadorian gold-copper assets amid a high-profile silver-gold discovery.

The Bramaderos project currently hosts a 2.7-million-ounce gold equivalent resource from two porphyry deposits and Sunstone has additions in mind after recent trenching at the Limon area pointed toward multiple areas of high-grade mineralisation for the drill.

The results are yet to be added to an exploration target established for up to 1.7Moz AuEq from the 1.7 kilometre by 700 metre area, and Sunstone believes it has cued up what could be an immensely productive drilling campaign.

Sunstone’s newly appointed Managing Director Patrick Duffy said outstanding drilling and trenching returns have established Limon as an exceptional discovery with huge potential upside.

“To have this amount of known gold and silver mineralisation from surface, which remains open, and with numerous new areas of mineralisation outlined through trenching, puts us in a very strong position in the lead up to a maiden resource,” Duffy said.

“We have an exceptional opportunity to create shareholder value here as we drill it out and demonstrate the size of what we have found.”

Both the completed institutional placement and 1-for-9 non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue for the remainder of the $6.3m raising come at a price of 1.1 cents a share and a 21.4 per cent discount to its last closing price.

The Sunstone board intends to partake for up to $150,000 but will look to get that ticked off with a shareholder approval at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting.

The rights issue will close in a little over a fortnight on May 27 before the Queensland-based explorer tallies up the shares on its mission to become a proven discovery maker in the country of four worlds.