Sunstone Metals has returned an intersection of 175.8 metres grading 0.50 g/t gold-equivalent from surface at the Porotillo discovery within the Bramaderos gold-copper project in southern Ecuador.

Drill hole PTDD020, positioned on the southern edge of the prospect, included a higher-grade interval of 58.6 metres at 0.66 g/t gold-equivalent from surface, alongside a lower zone of 73.16 metres grading 0.53 g/t gold-equivalent from 102.6 metres.

The latest results from Porotillo and the Copete prospect bring the total number of mineralised holes outside the existing 3.6-million-ounce gold-equivalent mineral resource to 26. The work has expanded the mineralised footprint at Porotillo to approximately 550 metres by 240 metres.

“The Porotillo discovery now measures a large area of around 550m x 240m. This will feed into the impending resource update, along with the other significant areas of mineralisation outlined by the recent highly successful drilling and trenching campaign.” — Patrick Duffy, Managing Director

Sunstone holds an interest in the Bramaderos project, located in Loja province. The ongoing exploration program is aimed at converting and upgrading the project's exploration target into mineral resources.

Assays are currently pending for four additional drill holes and nine channels at the Melonal prospect, as well as three trenches at Porotillo, with results expected during August and early September. These data sets, alongside the recent trenching and drilling results, will feed into a mineral resource update for the Bramaderos Project in the December quarter of 2026.

Meanwhile, a deep exploration hole at the Limon porphyry target has reached a depth of 387 metres, with drilling continuing toward a target depth of 1,200 metres to test the deeper porphyry gold-copper system beneath the shallow Limon epithermal gold-silver deposit.

In the surrounding district, nearby explorer Titan Minerals reported that joint-venture partner Hancock earned a 51% interest in the Linderos project in July 2026 after completing a US$20 million expenditure commitment, alongside drill results including 700.4m at 0.36% Cu Eq.

Read the full announcement: Drilling returns 176m gold-copper intersection