Sunstone Metals Ltd. announced that the latest assays from its El Palmar porphyry gold-copper discovery in northern Ecuador continue to expand the area of known mineralisation, with compelling new targets also defined for drill testing commencing in October. The latest assay results continue to return wide zones of significant gold-copper mineralisation within the main target area at El Palmar. Mineralisation extends from surface with gold and copper grades and overall dimensions of the mineralised system in-line with other major porphyry deposits.

Drill-holes EPDD018 and 019, completed in the west-central area of the main El Palmar target, intersected gold-copper mineralisation from near surface. This area had previously only been tested with a portion of hole EPDD005. The new assay results, together with hole EPDD005, have now defined a new mineralised body measuring at least 120m in diameter, and open at depth and to the east.

There has been no significant exploration of this mineralised body down-plunge. Drill-hole EPDD020, which was designed to test the area underneath hole EPDD011, has continued to identify gold-copper mineralisation to the north. It is well mineralised from surface to nearly 300m down-hole, with weaker mineralisation encountered from 440 to 670m down-hole (approximately 600m vertically below surface).

The geology of this area is not well understood at this stage with gold-copper mineralisation hosted in several different rock types with poorly defined geometries. Importantly, the mineralisation is open to depth, as well as to the east and northeast (due for drilling in 2022), and to the north-west. Ongoing drilling at El Palmar continues to outline a large mineralised system that requires further drilling with several areas not yet drilled in all dimensions.

Target T2, located east of the El Palmar porphyry system, has emerged as a very compelling porphyry gold-copper target based on several independent datasets. Two drill holes have been planned and access is currently being established. Surface sampling has defined an area of at least 70m x 50m with rock chip sampling averaging 0.4g/t gold and 0.1% copper in a strong porphyry stockwork underlying a silica-clay altered cap.

The rock chip samples were consistently mineralised and included six samples which returned assays of greater than 1 g/t gold, which is encouragingly very high for porphyry systems. Soil sampling at T2 has defined a significant and coherent gold-copper-molybdenum anomaly coincident with an extensive alteration cap. Geophysical surveying has defined a conductive body coincident with the surface metal anomalism. Recent mapping and additional rock chip sampling in the area has significantly enhanced the quality of this target, with porphyry vein stockworks being mapped over a strike length of 220m under the northwest edge of the alteration cap.

Drilling will commence at T2 as a priority in October, with the goal to deliver another porphyry gold-copper discovery within the El Palmar concession. Several epithermal gold targets have also been defined within the El Palmar concession, with the highest priority at this stage being the Tituana target. The target is currently undergoing trenching and in-fill soil sampling in areas where rock chip sampling has yielded a >85m-long (and open) zone from which 101 surface samples averaged 1.2 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag and 0.16% Cu, with peak values for these elements being 6.47 g/t Au, 225g/t Ag and 0.78% Cu.

The Tituana epithermal anomaly is being prepared for drilling. The Tituana target is located on a NNE trending structure, which may link to the south to the main El Palmar porphyry system ­ a common scenario in porphyry and epithermal systems. The interpreted geometry of the Tituana epithermal system is consistent with known epithermal mineralisation in the district such as at the nearby operating El Corazon gold mine and the historically defined Verde Chico gold system. El Palmar is located in northern Ecuador in the same regional structural belt that hosts the 2.66Bt Alpala copper-gold deposit grading 0.25g/t gold and 0.37% copper, and the 0.53Bt Tandayama-America deposit grading 0.19g/t gold and 0.24% copper, within the Cascabel project, and in the vicinity of the 1Bt Llurimagua copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit grading 0.89% copper and 0.04% molybdenum.

Several targets have been defined within the El Palmar concession including porphyry targets in the south-east near the Toachi fault, and also immediately east, north-east and south-east of the main El Palmar circular magnetic target, and these will be systematically explored. Testing of the epithermal targets is advancing well, and these have the opportunity to deliver higher grade discoveries. Sunstone's cash and equity investments remain strong at AUD 19 million, allowing expanded exploration activities at both El Palmar in northern Ecuador and Bramaderos in southern Ecuador.