Sunstone Metals Ltd has returned an exceptional high-grade assay of 6.0m at 26.60 g/t AuEq from the final two holes of its resource growth drilling program at the Bramaderos gold-copper project in southern Ecuador.

The high-grade interval was intersected in drill hole MEDD005 within a 9.4m zone grading 17.23 g/t AuEq at the northern edge of the Melonal porphyry system, midway between the Melonal and Alba porphyry deposits. The hole also returned 172m grading 0.43 g/t AuEq in its upper section. Sunstone observed native gold along fractures in the lower part of the hole, associated with a skarn-like mineral assemblage containing andradite garnet, potassium feldspar, anhydrite and elevated molybdenum.

A second hole, MEDD007, drilled off the southeast edge of Melonal, intersected a broad mineralised interval of 368m grading 0.45 g/t AuEq while following the plunge of the syn-mineral diorite intrusion.

The completion of holes MEDD005 and MEDD007 brings the 30-hole resource expansion program across the Melonal, Porotillo and Copete porphyry systems to a close. Sunstone confirmed that all 30 holes have intersected significant mineralisation outside the project's existing 3.6-million-ounce gold-equivalent mineral resource.

"With exceptional grades and an extremely wide mineralised intersection, these final two drill holes will make another substantial contribution to the impending resource update."

"The resource growth drilling program has been highly successful, with every hole intersecting mineralisation outside the existing resource."

— Patrick Duffy, Managing Director

Sunstone has advanced extensive exploration and resource growth drilling across multiple prospects at Bramaderos to expand mineralisation beyond the current resource inventory. The data from the 30-hole program will feed directly into an updated Mineral Resource estimate scheduled for release in the coming quarter.

The company plans to follow up the high-grade intersection in MEDD005 with hole BMDD051, which will be collared on the southern margin of Alba and drilled beneath the valley floor toward Melonal.

Read the full announcement: Drilling hits exceptional high-grade zone