Great Southern Copper has commenced reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Victoria porphyry copper target within its Especularita Project in Chile.
The company is testing for high-grade breccia-vein and disseminated copper mineralisation in the area.
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Four drill-holes are planned to evaluate high-grade vein and disseminated mineralisation identified in outcrop.
The drilling will also target areas beneath artisanal and small-scale mining workings.
Surface rock chip samples from the Victoria prospect have returned grades of up to 6.9% copper, 1.85 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 84.8g/t silver.
The Victoria prospect is situated approximately 2.5km south-east of the Artemisa North target, along the southern margin of the La Colorada lithocap.
According to Great Southern Copper, the target area remains largely untested below shallow gravel and scree cover, with mineralisation believed to be open along a significant footprint.
In a related development, drilling at the nearby Artemisa North prospect has recently concluded, with five holes totalling 796m.
The company reports that each hole encountered biotite-chlorite-magnetite alteration, along with varying levels of sulphide mineralisation.
The style and intensity of alteration confirm a porphyry copper-type system at Artemisa North.
All samples from four holes have been sent to ALS Laboratories in Santiago for analysis.
Great Southern Copper holds rights to own 100% of both the Victoria and Artemisa North targets.
CEO Sam Garrett said: “Victoria is the third of four targets to be tested with scout RC drilling in the current porphyry exploration programme.
“This programme is focusing on targets on the western and southern margins of the La Colorada lithocap that display geological, geochemical and spectral features that are characteristic of porphyry copper systems.”
The Especularita project is located at low elevation within the Cretaceous-age coastal metallogenic belt and is accessible to infrastructure and mining services.
Once the scout RC drilling programme at Victoria is finished, Great Southern Copper intends to move the drilling rig to the Artemisa South area to carry out similar tests for porphyry-related copper mineralisation.
An audio-frequency magneto-telluric geophysics survey is being carried out across the La Colorada lithocap, and plans to extend the Cerro Negro induced polarisation survey are in development, with work targeted to begin in June 2026.
