Great Southern Copper has completed its inaugural scout reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at the Especularita project in Chile, focusing on exploring large-scale porphyry copper systems.
The project is situated at low elevation and benefits from proximity to existing infrastructure and mining services.
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It is located along a trend of major copper deposits in Chile, including Los Pelambres, Altar and El Pachon.
The company holds the right to acquire 100% ownership of the project.
It has drilled 17 scout RC holes, comprising 2,474m, across the project area.
The drilling targeted prospects along the western and southern margins of the La Colorada advanced argillic lithocap.
According to the company, these areas were selected due to their geological characteristics, which suggest the potential exposure of porphyry-style alteration at the surface surrounding the lithocap.
Initial drilling at the Piedras Blancas and Artemisa North targets intersected diorites and microdiorites showing strong magnetite-biotite-pyrite alteration overprinted by intense chlorite-sericite alteration.
Notably, two drill-holes, RC001 at Piedras Blancas and RC008 at Artemisa North, intercepted porphyry-copper-style potassic alteration, identified by hydrothermal biotite and quartz veinlets, close to the surface.
At the Victoria and Artemisa South targets, drilling revealed less intense phyllic-style alteration, and mineralisation appears to be more structurally controlled.
The overall intensity of veining and copper-oxide occurrences reportedly increases towards the north, suggesting a potential source of mineralising fluids beneath the La Colorada lithocap.
Sample collection followed a 2m interval protocol, with procedures in place for quality assurance and control.
All samples have been sent to ALS Laboratories in Santiago and La Serena for preparation, with subsequent assays to be conducted in Lima, Peru.
Great Southern Copper expects the first assay results within two to four weeks.
Ongoing mapping and geophysical work are set to inform further exploration at other prospects within the licence area.
Great Southern Copper CEO Sam Garrett said: “We are pleased to have completed our first drilling test of the flanking margins of the giant lithocap alteration system at Especularita.
“This programme is important because it will allow us to vector future drilling within the lithocap to target areas that have the most potential to host copper and gold mineralisation.”
Last month, the company started scout RC drilling at the Artemisa South copper-gold target, part of its Especularita project.
