Sun Metals Corp. [SUNM-TSXV] shares were active Thursday October 3 after the company released more drill results from its Stardust polymetallic project in north-central British Columbia.
Results released on Tuesday include multiple intercepts from drilling in the 421 Zone mineralized system which the company believes was generated from a buried multiphase porphyry copper-style intrusive from the north. The company said new drill results from six holes extend the known plunge length of the 421 Zone to over 160 metres and indicates the zone continues to be open in both directions.
Sun also said high-grade copper-gold mineralization has been intercepted in several holes, including drill hole DDH19-50 which returned 45.55 metres grading 1.44% copper, 1.18 g/t gold and 27 g/t silver for 2.44% copper equivalent.
Reaction to those results sent Sun Metals shares down 17.5% or $0.05 to 23.5 cents on volume of 2.2 million. The shares are trading in a 52-week range of 14 cents and 65 cents.
Sun Metals is backed by Teck Resources Ltd. [TECK.A, TECK.B-TSX; TECK-NYSE], which recently spent $3.5 million to acquire a 13.8% stake in the junior.
Under a September, 2017 agreement with Lorraine Copper Corp., the junior is currently earning a 100% interest in the project by spending $6 million on the project by December 31, 2021.
Diamond drilling at Stardust was initiated in May, 2019, with two drills. To date, the drills have completed 8,860 metres over 19 drill holes and two drill holes are in progress. The primary aim is to explore around the mineralization identified in drill hole DDH18-SD-421, which last year returned a 100-metre interval of 2.51% copper, 3.03 g/t gold and 52.5 g/t silver. This equates to 5.05% copper equivalent or an 8.00 g/t gold equivalent.
“The alteration encountered in 2019 drilling to date confirms our belief that we are still distant from the heart of the system, which indicates to us there is significant, highly prospective exploration ground to the north with the opportunity to discover more of the high-grade copper-gold mineralization that we are seeing in the 421 zone,” said Ian Neill, Vice-President, Exploration at Sun Metals.
“We also expect to see increased consistency in grades from hole to hole as we track the mineralizing fluids to their source,” he said
Step-out drilling along the projected strike and plunge of the 421 Zone continues to show the lateral continuity of the 421 mineralized system. A pervasive skarn alteration envelope surrounds the copper-gold mineralization, indicating that current drilling is on the correct trajectory to find the more proximal part of the system.
The company announced in September plans to add a third drill to the program and an all-season camp to facilitate continuation of the exploration program through the winter months. With current drill holes expected to have a final depth of 900 metres, some of the drill holes can take up to three weeks to complete. The addition of a third drill this month will allow the company to accelerate exploration drilling, including testing the continuation of the 421 Zone up plunge to the south.