- Hot Chili (HCH) encounters high-grade results from drilling at the Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile
- Stand-out results from the Cortadera deposit include 484 metres at 0.5 per cent copper equivalent — an intersection which HCH says confirms further down plunge extensions
- Drilling at Productora also returned a high-grade result of 45 metres at 1.2 per cent copper equivalent from 280 metres including eight metres at 3.6 per cent copper equivalent
- Results from drilling at Cortadera will be used to upgrade Costa Fuego’s mineral resource later this year and those from Productora are supporting a metallurgical testwork program
- HCH shares are up 3.73 per cent to trade at 69.5 cents at 1:48 pm AEST
Hot Chili (HCH) has received results from development study and metallurgical drilling at its Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile.
The company said the grades were higher than expected from drilling at both the Cortadera and Productora deposits.
Stand-out results from Cortadera include 484 metres at 0.5 per cent copper equivalent from 548 metres including 56 metres at one per cent copper equivalent from 644 metres in hole CORMET004.
The company said this intersection confirms further down plunge extensions of the high-grade core to the Cuerpo 3 porphyry with 44 metres at one per cent copper equivalent recorded outside of the current resource.
CORMET004 represents the last of six holes drilled a part of the development study program completed earlier this year which previously returned results of 876 metres at 0.5 per cent copper equivalent including 206 metres at 0.9 per cent copper equivalent.
Drill results from the development study program will be included in a mineral resource estimate update for Costa Fuego.
At the Productora deposit, Hot Chili drilled four diamond holes as part of a metallurgical testwork program to confirm the processing flowsheet and inform the first three years of production at the deposit.
Best results from Productora include 45 metres at 1.2 per cent copper equivalent from 280 metres including eight metres at 3.6 per cent copper equivalent in MET027 and 39 metres at 1.1 per cent copper equivalent from 46 metres including 12 metres at 1.5 per cent copper equivalent from 60 metres in MET028.
Results from MET028 were “particularly exciting” for the company as the hole is located near-surface in the higher-grade Alice porphyry satellite pit.
Hot Chili is continuing to drill at the San Antonio and Valentina copper deposits and an initial drilling program will begin at the Santiago Z target early next month.
HCH was up 3.73 per cent to trade at 69.5 cents at 1:48 pm AEST.