Sunstone Metals could be sitting on a literal fortune, after estimates from two respected experts suggest that there are vault-busting quantities of resource lying in wait on its South American sites
The huge size of an Aussie-listed miner’s two gold-copper discoveries in Ecuador is becoming increasingly clear, with two of Australia’s most experienced analysts saying they could host up to 15 million ounces of gold equivalent.
The first published estimates of the size of the finds come as Sunstone Metals (ASX:STM) releases more strong assays today which show its Brama-Alba discovery in the south of Ecuador continues to grow.
Sunstone Metals will also be taking part in a webinar today to further outline today’s results and its plans. Details of the webinar have been released to the ASX.
The results are particularly valuable because it is the first time Sunstone has been able to publish gold-equivalent assays, thanks to its recent successful completion of preliminary metallurgical tests.
The assays contain wide intersections of up to 1gpt gold-equivalent. Importantly for investors, the mineralisation at Brama-Alba runs from surface, giving the project a huge economic advantage in any development scenario.
The grades are also highly attractive given they are in line with those at many of the well-known porphyry projects around the world.
According to Far East Capital’s highly-experienced analyst Warwick Grigor, Sunstone “could realistically expect a resource of somewhere between 5 and 10Moz of gold-equivalent” at Brama-Alba. This is in addition to Sunstone’s El Palmar gold-copper discovery in the north of Ecuador.
Writing about El Palmar, Morgans analyst Chris Brown says “drilling continues to substantiate the shallow – within 500m of the surface – El Palmar gold-copper mineralisation”.
“The exploration target for this shallow mineralisation is 2-5Moz ounces of gold in this shallow section of the deposit,” Brown says.
Highly regarded resources columnist Barry FitzGerald also highlighted the investment opportunity in his latest column, writing: “Sunstone is an example of the sort of junior that seems poised to benefit from the coming copper supply deficits”.
“It is trading at 4.2c for a market cap of $110m. That’s down from 12c earlier in the year despite flagging its El Palmar project in northern Ecuador has all the hallmarks of becoming a “large” gold-copper porphyry project,” Fitzgerald says.
“Porphyry mineralisation is typically low grade but bulk tonnage, making for low costs of production because of the scale of operations, and the mix of metals. They are what all the big miners want.”
Norris says the results released today put Sunstone on track for a maiden resource at Brama-Alba during 2022.
“The results provide more firm evidence that Brama hosts a substantial gold-copper porphyry system,” he says. “There is also potential for this system to extend significantly to adjacent targets Melonal (west) and Playas (east). These areas are expected to be drill tested in 2022.”
Norris says the size of the Brama-Alba discovery continues to grow with wide intersections with very good gold-copper grades from surface.
“It is also important to appreciate the outstanding location of Bramaderos, which is a key component to its value,” he says.
“The project is located immediately adjacent to the Pan American highway, and within reasonable distance of available hydroelectric power, supporting the economics of potential development opportunities.
“The project is also supported by nearby commercial airports and significant cities (Loja) and the project has strong community support. Ecuador sources 88% of its power from hydroelectricity and is ideally placed to participate in the global demand for clean energy sourced metals.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Sunstone Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.