Australian miner Hot Chili has delivered another impressive set of drill results from its La Verde copper-gold discovery in Chile, significantly expanding a substantial, near-surface mineralised system located just 30 kilometres from its flagship Costa Fuego project.
Exceptional Drill Intercepts from Near Surface
The company's latest diamond drill hole, part of its ongoing phase two program, intersected a massive 495 metres grading 0.38% copper and 0.10 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a depth of just 3 metres. This impressive interval included a higher-grade core of 123 metres running at 0.50% copper and 0.13g/t gold. The sheer scale and continuity of mineralisation starting near the surface strongly supports La Verde's potential as a future source of bulk-tonnage, open-pit ore.
A second diamond hole also returned robust results, cutting a 426-metre intersection grading 0.37% copper and 0.08g/t gold from 194 metres down. Within that broad zone, the company identified multiple higher-grade sections, including 107 metres at 0.46% copper and 52 metres at 0.50% copper. Critically, both holes ended while still in copper-gold mineralisation, indicating clear potential for the system to extend at depth.
Strategic Fit for the Costa Fuego Hub
Management emphasised that these results confirm the ongoing expansion of La Verde's high-grade core and underscore the discovery's strategic value to Hot Chili's broader Costa Fuego development plans. The company intends to use Costa Fuego as a central processing hub in Chile's coastal Atacama region.
"Hot Chili is delighted to report these compelling assay results from La Verde, with more expected soon," said managing director Christian Easterday. "Against a strong backdrop of record copper and gold prices, the reporting of wide, near-surface, copper-gold intercepts from a new major discovery underscores the strategic significance of La Verde to Hot Chili."
Strategically positioned in the Huasco Valley region north of Santiago, La Verde is ideally located to potentially provide additional mill feed to the proposed Costa Fuego processing hub should it be developed into a mining operation.
Enhancing a World-Class Copper Resource
Costa Fuego, which comprises the Cortadera, Productora, Alice, and San Antonio deposits, is already regarded as one of the globe's premier undeveloped copper resources. It hosts a combined resource of 798 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper equivalent, containing 2.9 million tonnes of copper, 2.6 million ounces of gold, 12.9 million ounces of silver, and 68,000 tonnes of molybdenum.
The company's internal modelling suggests La Verde could contribute significant open-pit material to the early years of Costa Fuego's proposed 20-year mine schedule. This has the potential to extend the operation's life and materially improve the project economics outlined in Hot Chili's March 2025 pre-feasibility study.
The timing of these results is highly favourable, with copper prices recently hitting an all-time high of US$6.15 per pound. Long-term consensus prices for copper and gold now sit well above the assumptions used in the pre-feasibility study, meaning any new, near-surface tonnes could deliver outsized value.
Drilling has recommenced after a short holiday break, with assays pending for six more holes. As the program continues to target extensions of the high-grade core, investors can anticipate a steady flow of news. With its consistent thick intercepts, shallow mineralisation, and leverage to strong commodity markets, La Verde is rapidly shaping into a compelling growth engine for Hot Chili.
