LSE- and TSX-listed Solgold has delivered a new resource estimate for the Alpala porphyry copper/gold deposit, in northern Ecuador, of 2.95-billion tonnes in the indicated and inferred categories.

The resource estimate contains 10.9-million tonnes of copper and 23.2-million tonnes of gold at a 0.2% copper-equivalent (CuEq) cutoff, with 79% in the indicated category.

The high-grade, gold-rich core of the deposit now contains double the copper and gold at a higher grade than in December 2017. The high-grade resource has increased in size by 99% at a 0.96% CuEq cutoff to 420-million tonnes at 1.47% CuEq. Overall, the resource metal content has increased by 77% at a 0.3% CuEq cutoff and by 108% at a 0.2% CuEq cutoff.

The project has about 950-million tonnes at 0.97% CuEq for 6.1-million tonnes copper and 16.2-million ounces gold, significantly exceeding the generally held requirement of 750-million tonnes at a grade of at least 0.9% CuEq for tier-one status for both copper and gold projects worldwide, said SolGold CEO Nick Mather.

“Alpala has got more to grow yet and we are pursuing that aggressively over the coming months,” he commented in a statement.

Mather noted that SolGold held the most extensive position over 72 licences, covering 11 major targets, as a result if its first mover advantage four years ago in Ecuador.

“Alpala is just the beginning for SolGold and we can see the emergence of the company as a copper/gold major and Ecuador becoming one of the world's largest copper producers as a result.

“Global electrification is driving copper demand and copper is the new iron-ore.  It's a global 'must have',” he said.

SolGold’s project is one of the few stand-out copper development projects and has piqued the interest of global major BHP, which in September and October bought shares amounting to an 11.2% stake in the junior.

It paid a 32% premium to the 20-day volume-weighted average LSE price for the second stake and 20% for the first in a total spend of around $95-million. That compared with a previous offer SolGold rejected of $30-million for a 10% stake in the company in October 2016.