Ecuador Gold Announces Exploration Channel Sample Results Up to 0.69% Copper; Doubles Potential Strike Length of El Hito Porphyry Copper System

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 25, 2014) -

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Ecuador Gold & Copper Corp. (TSX VENTURE:EGX), (the "Company" or "EGX") is pleased to report new exploration results at its El Hito copper porphyry deposit where inferred resources currently stand at 161 million tonnes of 0.3% copper (1.1 billion pounds of copper). The El Hito deposit is located within the Santa Barbara Sector of the Company's 8,300 hectare Condor gold and copper concessions in the Zamora Gold and Copper Belt, Southeast Ecuador. The 2014 Exploration program at El Hito has delineated a zone of favourable altered diorite porphyry host rocks ("El Hito North") to the north of the currently defined resource for a further 1000 m, effectively doubling the potential target area. Chip and channel samples in outcrop returned consistent anomalous copper with values over 0.1% copper in 30% of the samples. All samples returned values higher than 100 ppm while six samples were higher than the average grade of the known resource and three exceeded 0.55% up to 0.7% copper. Mapping has identified favourable porphyry-style "B" quartz veins and chalcopyrite mineralization associated with potassic and phyllic alteration, confirming the potential to encounter further copper mineralization in this previously unexplored northern extension of El Hito. Maps summarizing exploration mapping and sampling at El Hito are available for viewing on the Company's web site at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com.

The Company drilled five new drill holes at El Hito in 2013, part of the previously announced drill program on the Company's extensive Condor Gold property. Drilling resulted in the new resource calculation and confirmed the potential for a significant copper deposit at El Hito with higher grade zones within a larger porphyry copper deposit. EGX drilling intersected relatively continuous copper mineralization over lengths of 500m and up to 700m from near surface in every hole, and two holes (DEH-05 and DEH-07) encountered grades of 0.4% to 0.5% Cu over at least 200m with highest grade sections averaging up to 0.7% Cu. Porphyry copper mineralization is associated with a Late Jurassic dioritic intrusive complex hosted by Jurassic age plutonic rocks of the Zamora batholith. Two major structural orientations are exhibited by steeply dipping intrusive contacts, quartz veins, sulfide-mineral veinlets, and faults striking north and northwest. The majority of the diorite complex is moderately to strongly quartz-sericite-pyrite (phyllic) altered, overprinting potassic alteration at depth. The 40km long Zamora Copper Gold Belt in Southeastern Ecuador is host to Ecuacorriente's Mirador, Panantza and San Carlos Cu porphyry deposits and Kinross's Fruta del Norte epithermal gold deposit of the same age. The Company cautions that reference to the nearby deposits is for information purposes only and there is no assurance that its Condor gold and copper concessions will develop into economically viable producing deposits.

Condor Project Current Gold and Copper Resources

Total resources at the Condor Gold Project now comprise 447.3 million tonnes at 0.56 g/t Au (8.0 million ounces Au) in the indicated category with a further 197.6 million tonnes at 0.4 g/t Au (2.6 million ounces Au) in the inferred category and a copper resource estimate of approximately 0.8 billion lbs of copper in the indicated resource category and approximately 1.5 billion lbs of copper in the inferred resource category. (For details of the previously reported resources see the Company's News Release dated March 24, 2014 and the Company's technical report (the "Technical Report") prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") dated effective October 16, 2013 and filed on SEDAR on November 29, 2013, available at www.sedar.com).

The El Hito copper porphyry deposit hosts an inferred copper resource of 161 million tonnes at a grade of 0.31% Cu (1.1 billion lbs. Cu). For further details and a description of El Hito, see the Company's NI-43-101 Technical Report dated October 16, 2013 at www.sedar.com.

Quality Assurance

The Company has implemented a quality assurance and quality control program to ensure that the transport, sampling and analysis of all samples are conducted in accordance with the best possible practices. The QA/QC program has been described for each previous release of drill hole results on the project (see recent news releases at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com). In preparation for calculation of resource estimates, the Company hired independent consultants to review the QA/QC program.

Qualified Person

Mit Tilkov, P.Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp. is a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, supervised the project field work, and is responsible for the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Cautionary Note

The Company has not completed a preliminary economic assessment or feasibility study of the Condor Gold Project under NI 43-101, and there is no assurance that the exploration and subsequent development operations of the Condor Gold Project will be economically or technically viable.

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