Australia-headquartered gold and copper miner Sunstone Metals has agreed to sell its 83.6% stake in its Finland-based lithium project to Canada-headquartered explorer and developer United Lithium for a total consideration of A$879 000 – inclusive of 490 000 shares.

As such, Sunstone has signed a letter of intent (LoI) to divest its Finland lithium project, including the Kietyönmäki lithium occurrence – that project being a joint venture (JV) between Sunstone and TSX-V-listed Nortec Minerals, which holds a 16.4% interest.

The acquisition involves the purchasing of both JV parties’ interests.

Drilling by Sunstone has resulted in the finding of 1.4% lithium oxide at a depth of 24.2 m, in a spodumene-bearing pegmatite.

The LoI permits a 75-day exclusivity period during which a definitive agreement will be negotiated and due diligence undertaken.

Sunstone MD Malcolm Norris says the transaction gives Sunstone some cash for its Ecuadorian copper/gold focussed exploration campaign while enabling the company to retain exposure to the upside offered by United Lithium’s lithium assets.

In Ecuador, Sunstone has the Bramaderos gold/copper project and the El Palmar copper/gold project.

The company holds an 87.5% interest in Bramaderos, while TSX-V-listed Cornerstone Capital Resources holds 12.5%. This project is in Loja province, southern Ecuador, and is highly prospective for the discovery of large porphyry gold/copper systems, and high-grade epithermal gold systems.

Historical exploration results from drilling at Bramaderos, together with recent exploration by Sunstone and Cornerstone, indicate multiple fertile mineralised systems with significant discovery potential.

The El Palmar copper/gold project is a highly prospective 800 ha porphyry that Sunstone is eyeing to acquire through a staged acquisition agreement, which will ultimately deliver 100% ownership to Sunstone.