Australian mineral exploration company Hot Chili has reported significant progress at its La Verde copper-gold discovery in Chile, where drilling has verified a substantial, higher-grade core from near-surface.
La Verde, a large-scale copper-gold porphyry system, is Hot Chili's top exploration target and lies 30km from the Costa Fuego project.
The latest phase-two drilling assay results, particularly from diamond drill-hole DKP005D, indicate an expansion of higher-grade copper and gold mineralisation along the eastern flank of the discovery.
DKP005D, a 200m diamond tail extension of the earlier reverse circulation (RC) drill-hole DKP005, intersected an additional 47m grading 0.57% copper and 0.12 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 247.5m depth (original end of hole) and 28m at 0.49% copper and 0.15g/t gold from 316m depth.
A total of 2,900m of drilling has been completed at La Verde and assay results are pending for six diamond drill-holes.
All of these holes encountered broad widths of copper porphyry-style mineralisation.
The recently completed diamond drill-holes DKD035 and DKD036 have visually identified wide intersections of strong copper porphyry-style mineralisation, starting at shallow depths and situated directly above La Verde’s gold-rich, higher-grade copper core.
Drilled from the same collar location as DKD035, DKD036 confirms strong lateral continuity of this up-dip target.
To date, all eight diamond drill-holes completed at La Verde have seen wide intersections of copper porphyry-style mineralisation.
Hot Chili managing director Christian Easterday said: “The convergence of mineralisation into a single higher-grade core at La Verde, extending from near-surface, is a material development for Hot Chili. Addition of a higher-grade starter pit would significantly strengthen the front-end of Costa Fuego’s 20-year mine schedule and be a game changer for scale and economics.
“Costa Fuego is rapidly shaping as a low-risk, coastal contender to adjacent major copper developments in the Huasco Region and Vicuña District of the high Andes.
"Low elevation, access to near-surface higher-grades, secured rights for non-continental water supply and low capital intensity remove many of the significant challenges facing our high Andean neighbours.”
