Chairman’s Review 8 September 2022 On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to present the 2022 Annual Report for Sunstone Metals Limited (‘Sunstone’ or ‘Company’), and to thank all shareholders for your continued support of Sunstone. Dear Fellow Shareholders, It has been a year of significant growth for the Company highlighted by two globally significant discoveries. Sunstone, like many other companies, has been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The local exploration team in Ecuador has stepped up during this time of restricted travel and done a fantastic job throughout the pandemic, bringing on the El Palmar project and implementing exploration programs under the direction of the Australia based executive team and under strict operating procedures to responsibly manage the risks associated with COVID-19. At El Palmar in Northern Ecuador, first assays of gold and copper over wide intersections from surface were announced in October 2021 confirming a significant gold-copper porphyry discovery. The Company is acquiring a 100% interest in the El Palmar project and currently holds 70% through a staged acquisition agreement. The drilling results to date demonstrate El Palmar has substantial scale and gold-copper grades. The area has proven world class potential as El Palmar is in close proximity to the 1.0Bt Llurimagua copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, and in the same structural belt hosting the 2.6Bt Alpala copper-gold deposit within the Cascabel project. There is immense upside at El Palmar for further discoveries as drilling to date has been limited to the south-eastern portion of the main target area with the western and northern portions remaining largely untested along with a number of regional targets. The success at El Palmar was soon followed by further discovery success at Bramaderos in southern Ecuador where the initial drill program of the Alba target returned high-grade gold values and gold-copper values over significant widths. Ongoing drilling success at Alba and the nearby Brama target has significantly extended the scale of the combined Brama-Alba system and has consistently returned grades and widths in line with, or better than, other porphyry gold-copper deposits. The Brama-Alba system is at least 1.1km long and open to the east and west and an initial mineral resource estimate is planned for late 2022 – a significant milestone for the Project and the Company. The Company continues to grow its footprint in Ecuador in line with its aspirations to become a safe and responsible discoverer and developer in the porphyry copper gold space. In June 2022 Sunstone signed a Letter of Intent to acquire the Verde Chico Project located to the west of the El Palmar through a Staged Acquisition Agreement. The Company has built a team in the junior resource sector that we believe is second to none. The teams previous work in Ecuador and overseas has led to significant discoveries and shareholder value growth, and the Sunstone team will work towards repeating that success at Bramaderos and El Palmar. During the year, the company monetised a portion of its investment in Swedish listed copper development company, Copperstone Resources AB (listed on Nasdaq Sweden First North) which realised cash of approximately $10.2 million through sale of shares. In addition, a successful Placement and Share Purchase Plan was undertaken in April-May 2022 to raise $22.4 million before fees. At the end of the financial year the Company held $24 million in cash and the value of our remaining interest in Copperstone and other listed securities was $1.7 million, providing a very healthy balance sheet for the Company. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Sunstone’s staff, management and my fellow directors for their dedication and work during the past 12 months. We are committed to delivering strong shareholder returns and growing the Company through its activities in Ecuador. Yours sincerely Mr Graham Ascough Chairman Overview 2 SUNSTONE METALS LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2022 Sunstone Metals Limited Annual Report 2022
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2NDg3