Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) has obtained another set of strong results from development study drilling across the company’s Costa Fuego costal range copper-gold project in Chile.
Drilling has returned higher grade results than expected at both the Cortadera and Productora deposits, as well as providing final inputs for metallurgical and geotechnical testwork programmes.
These new results add to a series of recent outstanding drill intersections, which are expected to have a positive impact on the forthcoming resource upgrade and Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) for Costa Fuego.
Development study drilling is complete and the company has reduced its drilling operations from three drill rigs (five shifts of drilling per day) to one drill rig (one shift of drilling per day) along with implementing other cost rationalisation initiatives.
The company looks forward to its next set of results from drilling undertaken across its high-grade satellite deposits (San Antonio and Valentina) as well as first-ever drilling set to commence across the large-scale Santiago Z porphyry target in early August.
With treasury of approximately A$22 million, Hot Chili is fully funded into late 2023 and the company remains well positioned to deliver Costa Fuego as one of the nearest-term, meaningful new copper mines in the world.
Assays Returned for Final Cortadera Development Study Drillhole
Diamond drillhole CORMET004 returned 484m grading 0.5% CuEq (0.4% Cu, 0.1g/t Au) from 548m depth, including 56m grading 1.0% CuEq (0.8% Cu, 0.3g/t Au) from 644m depth, and including 206m grading 0.7% CuEq (0.5% Cu, 0.2g/t Au) from 800m depth.
The new drill intersection in COREMET004 confirms further down plunge extensions of the high-grade core to the main porphyry (Cuerpo 3), with 44m grading 1.0% CuEq (0.8% Cu, 0.3g/t Au) from 878m depth recorded outside of the current high grade (+0.6% Cu) resource domain.
CORMET004 represents the last of six Development Study drillholes completed at Cortadera in Q1 and Q2 2022 as part of a hydrological and geotechnical testwork programme.
Assay results for this programme have been exceptional, confirming further growth of the high-grade resources, notably:
• 552m grading 0.6% CuEq from 276m depth, including 248m at 0.8% CuEq (CORMET003)
• 876m grading 0.5% CuEq from 246m depth, including 206m grading 0.9% CuEq (CORMET006)
• 658m grading 0.6% CuEq from 232m depth, including 134m grading 0.8% CuEq and including 130m grading 0.9% CuEq (CORMET005)
Drill results from the Development Study programme will be included in the next Mineral Resource upgrade for Costa Fuego, expected in late 2022.
For further information please visit: https://www.hotchili.net.au/
