Sunstone (ASX:STM) trenches strong surface taste of Ecuadorian gold-copper

Sunstone Metals’ trenching has uncovered strong stockwork-hosted porphyry gold-copper mineralisation at the surface of its Ecuadorian El Palmar discovery as it prepares for drilling and definition of a maiden resource.

Returned assays of 40.4 metres at 0.86 grams per tonne gold and 524 parts per million copper and 21m at 0.34g/t gold and 714ppm copper remain open on all sides.

The Queensland-based explorer believes the high-grade interval correlates with a previous 97m at 0.43g/t gold and 0.11% copper strike and demonstrates the extensive near-surface mineralisation of a growing discovery.

Grade is not king for porphyry, and while the numbers would not leap off the page for a vein-style or skarn deposit, they are noteworthy for the large volume, low-grade deposits which account for as much as 70% of the world’s copper production.

Sunstone Managing Director Patrick Duffy said with the extent, depth, and extent of mineralisation now established, internal studies have begun to prepare for a maiden estimate.

“These trenching results lead us to the mineralisation and will therefore underpin the next drilling program at El Palmar, increasing its efficiency and effectiveness,” Duffy said.

“The value of a significant outcropping component to the extensive El Palmar porphyry gold-copper system cannot be underestimated as we prepare for a mineral resource estimate.”

He added the results would also aid Sunstone’s considerations for economic development and allow for deeper exploration to enhance the scale of its porphyry cluster.

Trenching has also defined another point of higher-grade mineralisation within the broader T1 system area, and Sunstone has expanded the program to see if it can amalgamate a few of the target zones ahead of drilling.

El Palmar is the less-advanced of Sunstone’s two Ecuadorian gold-copper plays, and it is bringing in funds and racking up the drill to explore a fresh gold-silver discovery and add to its 2.7-million ounces of gold equivalent at the Bramaderos project.

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