Hot Chili has returned to its headline stealing best, tabling yet another cracker copper strike from its Cortadera deposit in Chile. This latest colossal interval tips the scales at 373m grading 0.4 per cent copper and 0.1 g/t gold from 648m down-hole and includes a higher-grade core of 130m at 0.5 per cent copper and 0.2 g/t gold.
The latest drill result was revealed after Hot Chili’s recent resource estimate for the Cortadera porphyry complex. The estimate, which is yet to include the latest results, weighed in at an immense 451 million tonnes at 0.46 per cent copper equivalent containing 1.7 million tonnes of copper, 1.9 million ounces of gold and 9.9 million ounces of silver. This rich cocktail of metals now looks set to grow on the back of the latest drilling campaign.
Current drilling in Chile see’s the company’s fleet of rigs plumbing the depths of the vast Cortadera copper-gold porphyry complex which extends over more than 2.3km of strike. Hot Chili is peppering the Cuerpo 3 porphyry with drilling to better define the lateral and depth extents of the intrusive copper-gold system. Cuerpo 3 is the largest of the targets at Cortadera
The new 373m intercept comes from drill hole CRP0032D, the extension of an earlier diamond drill hole on the north-western margin of the Cuerpo 3 discovery, which finished in copper mineralisation. This intercept extends the recognised strike length of the porphyry discovery and shows the massive ore system can be traced to a significant depth.
Ongoing modelling and definition of the Cuerpo 3 porphyry will likely add a considerable tonnage to future resource upgrades, with Cortadera emerging as a Tier One discovery in its own right.
A second 890m deep diamond hole has now been completed 400m north-west of CRP0032D, whilst a massive 1,200m deep drill hole is currently being cored on the south-east flank of the discovery. This 1,200m drill hole follows up on an incredible 542m intersection at 0.5 per cent copper and 0.2 g/t gold, which has highlighted the potential of this southern extension to the copper-gold system.
Hot Chili is also testing an array of targets outside the Cuerpo 3 deposit. Its first diamond hole below the Cuerpo 2 discovery intersected around 500m of visible sulphide and quartz vein mineralisation from 284m down-hole. Samples from this hole are currently being assayed with the results expected in the coming weeks.
Immediately north of the Cuerpo porphyry complex, the company has kicked off exploration over the extensive Cortadera North target. This burgeoning two-kilometre-long geophysical target is being tested using wide-spaced reverse circulation drilling, with two of the ten planned holes having already been completed.
Drilling at Cortadera North shows strong pathfinders for copper-gold mineralisation, with sulphides and alteration recorded in the bottom of the two completed holes. A third hole at Cortadera North is presently being drilled with geological logging noting the presence of copper oxides from 17m down-hole. This program is perhaps heralding the first steps in the discovery of yet another porphyry complex within the project area.
The company’s Phase 3 drilling program looks to moving along at a rapid clip. With a fleet of rigs working their way across the Cortadera complex, there looks to be no shortage of news flow in the coming weeks as holes are completed, samples lodged and assays received.
Cortadera forms part of Hot Chili’s Costa Fuego porphyry copper-gold project on Chile’s coastal strip, just 50km inland from the port of Los Lasas and 600km north of the country’s capital of Santiago. The project area hosts a trio of porphyry ore systems including the Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio discoveries.
Costa Fuego enjoys outstanding access to infrastructure through the Costa Fuego region. There is power, a nearby port, a seawater pipeline to supply much-needed water to milling and processing operations, and perhaps most importantly, the Vallenar mineral processing facility.
Vallenar is owned by the Chilean Government’s ENAMI group and sits a mere 15 km north of Hot Chili’s Productora mine. The company is now ramping up the mining and processing of the high-grade ores from Productora, having received permitting for a move to underground operations at the deposit.
A potential escalation of mining activity at Productora may result in an expansion of the agreement with ENAMI and a move to increase production. The processing arrangement at Vallenar provides ongoing cash flow to assist in the ongoing funding of Hot Chili’s exploration and development program in the region.
With the company now delving into an abundance of targets at Cortadera and eyeing off a further expansion of resources at the emerging Tier One discovery, Hot Chili is charging into 2021 with a full head of steam. The budding copper-gold producer continues to deliver a seemingly endless stream of exceptional drill intercepts, building on its world-class discovery in South America.
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