Cortadera porphyry discovery, part of the Company’s Costa Fuego senior copper development in Chile
Announcement
29th April 2022
Cortadera Delivers Another Strong Result 552m at 0.6% CuEq including 248m at 0.8% CuEq
Highlights
- Additional significant intersections returned from development study drilling at the Cortadera porphyry discovery, part of the Company’s Costa Fuego senior copper development in Chile
- CORMET003 delivered 552m grading 0.6% CuEq (0.4% copper (Cu), 0.2g/t gold (Au), 89ppm molybdenum (Mo)) from 276m depth down-hole, including 248m grading 0.8% CuEq (0.6% Cu, 0.2g/t Au, 179ppm Mo) from 574m depth - confirming further high grade growth potential at
Cuerpo 3
- High grade Indicated resources (+0.6% CuEq), currently standing at 156Mt grading 0.79% CuEq for 1.0Mt Cu, 0.85Moz Au, 2.9Moz Ag & 24kt Mo, set to be further expanded in next resource
upgrade later this year
- Assays returned for eleven Reverse Circulation (RC) holes drilled into the large-scale Productora Central target, with several intersections requiring follow-up Diamond Drill (DD) tails
• Drilling to commence across shallow high-grade resource growth opportunities at Valentina and San Antonio in the coming weeks and first drill testing across the large-scale Santiago Z target in the coming month
- Further drill results from Cortadera expected in the coming weeks
- Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the drill holes at Cortadera were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% × Cu price 1% per tonne
× Cu_recovery) + (Mo ppm × Mo price per g/t × Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm × Au price per g/t × Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm × Ag price per g/t × Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. Average fresh rock metallurgical recoveries were Cu=83%, Au=56%, Mo=82%, and Ag=37%.
Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (TSXV: HCH) (OTCQX: HHLKF) (“Hot Chili” or “Company”) is pleased to announce another strong result from its Cortadera porphyry discovery, as well as first assay results from exploration drilling being undertaken across its coastal range, Costa Fuego copper-gold hub in Chile.
Development study drill holes at Cortadera continue to return impressive assay results, with high-grade intersections reported from all holes in the program so far.
CORMET003 returned a significant intersection of 552m grading 0.6% CuEq (0.4% copper (Cu), 0.2g/t gold (Au), 89ppm molybdenum (Mo)) from 276m depth down-hole, including 248m grading 0.8% CuEq (0.6% Cu, 0.2g/t Au, 179ppm Mo) from 574m depth.
Importantly, the high grade core of the main porphyry (Cuerpo 3) at Cortadera continues to demonstrate further growth potential following the recently announced resource upgrade for Costa Fuego comprising Indicated resources of 725Mt grading 0.47% CuEq for 2.8Mt Cu, 2.6Moz Au, 10.5Moz Ag & 67kt Mo with high grade Indicated resources (+0.6% CuEq) standing at 156Mt grading 0.79% CuEq for 1.0Mt Cu, 0.85Moz Au, 2.9Moz Ag & 24kt Mo (see announcement dated 31st March 2022).
CORMET001 was drilled into Cuerpo 1 and also returned a strong result of 70m grading 0.6% CuEq (0.5% Cu, 0.1g/t Au and 11ppm Mo) from 86m depth down-hole. CORMET001 also ended in 6m grading 0.6% copper and supplied critical hydrological and geotechnical data that will be used to inform the Costa Fuego Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) due Q3 2022.
CORMET003 (775m depth down-hole) – 0.8% copper, 0.1g/t gold, 1.7g/t silver and 510ppm molybdenum. Planar and continuous, chalcopyrite-pyrite-molybdenite-bearing, B-type quartz vein hosted in sericite-chlorite-(biotite) altered early-mineralization tonalite porphyry.
Hot Chili is also pleased to provide an exploration update on drilling and access clearing activities across several large-scale and high grade, satellite targets being tested this year.
Assay results returned for the first eleven drill holes completed at the Productora Central target this year have provided encouragement and further drilling is planned.
In addition, clearing activities are well advanced across Valentina, San Antonio and Santiago Z. Drilling is planned to commence at Valentina and then San Antonio in the coming weeks, and Santiago Z in the coming month.
Further development study drill results from Cortadera are expected in the coming weeks.
Exploration Update - Drilling and Access Clearing Advancing
Productora Central Exploration Target - First-pass Drill Results
Results have been returned for eleven deep Reverse Circulation (RC) holes drilled across the Productora Central target. Productora Central is a 1.2km by 1.0km geochemical target, located along the western flank of the planned Productora open pit.
Drilling across the target has proved challenging due to issues penetrating an advanced argillic clay zone (alteration zones are known to overlie large-scale porphyry systems), with several drillholes not achieving planned hole depths.
The most encouraging result was returned from drill hole PRF003, located close to the Serrano fault where clay zones mask the target along strike to the northwest. PRF003 recorded an end of hole intersection of 36m grading 0.2% CuEq (0.2% Cu, 0.1g/t Au, 0.5g/t Ag) from 290m, including 12m grading 0.4% CuEq (0.4% Cu, 0.1g/t Au, 0.4g/t Ag).
Importantly, PRF003 ended in copper mineralisation and a diamond tail is planned to extend the drill hole this quarter.
Results from this first-pass RC programme will be used to refine the Company’s three-dimensional geochemical model in advance of follow-up drill design. The next phase of drilling will aim to successfully penetrate the clay zone which is masking an area of elevated molybdenum along the Serrano fault.
RC Drilling at the Productora Central exploration target, April 2022, looking north-northwest.
San Antonio and Valentina – Drilling to Commence in Coming Weeks
Following the recent Costa Fuego resource upgrade (see announcement dated 31st of March 2022), Hot Chili have been completing platform clearing across the San Antonio and Valentina high grade copper deposits, located 5 kms northeast of Cortadera.
The Inferred maiden resource for San Antonio (4.2Mt @ 1.2% CuEq (1.1% Cu, 2.1g/t Ag) is intended to be upgraded in classification and also tested along strike and at depth. Approximately 13 drill holes are planned and clearing is underway.
Platform clearing across the Valentina historical, high grade, copper mine is well advanced with ten platforms already cleared. Drilling will follow-up previous significant intersections recorded by Hot Chili in 2018 including 12m grading 1.5% copper from 28m down-hole depth (including 6m grading 2.7% copper) in drill hole VAP0001 and 8m grading 2.0% copper from 124m down-hole depth (including 2m grading 4.8% copper) in drill hole VAP0003 (see ASX announcement dated 5th September 2018).
Drilling is expected to commence at Valentina in the coming weeks and then at San Antonio.
View over San Antonio mine workings, looking northwest.
Santiago Z Target – First Access and Platform Clearing Well Advanced
Earthmoving works are in progress at Santiago Z, with a 7km principal access track already constructed and six initial drill platforms expected to be ready for drill testing in late Q2 2022.
Hot Chili’s soil results and mapping have confirmed a potentially large copper porphyry footprint measuring over 4km in length and 2km in width at the Santiago Z landholding, located immediately south of Cortadera.
Santiago Z contains a large soil molybdenum anomaly that is twice the size and four times the tenor of the soil molybdenum anomaly related to the Cortadera copper-gold porphyry discovery (see ASX announcement date 9th May 2021).
Hot Chili’s soil programmes over Santiago Z in 2021 confirmed enrichment in copper, gold and silver (Cortadera metal signature) and other element zonation patterns consistent with the presence of a potentially large copper porphyry system at depth.
Mapping by Hot Chili has recognised several areas of outcropping copper-bearing hydrothermal breccia at Santiago Z with no drill testing having ever been undertaken across the target area.
Santiago Z will be a priority target as soon as access is fully established for initial drill testing.
Santiago Z access track and drill platform earthworks – April 2022
Figure 1 Location of Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio in relation to coastal range infrastructure of Hot Chili’s combined Costa Fuego copper-gold project, located 600km north of Santiago in Chile
Reported on a 100% Basis - combining Mineral Resource estimates for the Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio deposits. Figures are rounded, reported to appropriate significant figures, and reported in accordance with CIM and NI 43-101. Metal rounded to nearest thousand, or if less, to the nearest hundred. Total Resource reported at +0.21% CuEq for open pit and +0.30% CuEq for underground. Refer to Announcement “Hot Chili Delivers Next Level of Growth” (31st March 2022) for JORC Table 1 information related to the Costa Fuego Mineral Resource estimates.
- Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the resource were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% × Cu price 1% per tonne ×
Cu_recovery)+(Mo ppm × Mo price per g/t × Mo_recovery)+(Au ppm × Au price per g/t × Au_recovery)+ (Ag ppm × Ag price per g/t × Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. For Cortadera and San Antonio (Inferred + Indicated), the average metallurgical recoveries were Cu=83%, Au=56%, Mo=82%, and Ag=37%. For Productora (Inferred + Indicated), the average metallurgical recoveries were Cu=83%, Au=43% and Mo=42%. For Costa Fuego (Inferred + Indicated), the average Metallurgical Recoveries were Cu=83%, Au=51%, Mo=67% and Ag=23%.
This announcement is authorised by the Board of Directors for release to ASX.
For more information please contact:
Christian Easterday Tel: +61 8 9315 9009
Managing Director – Hot Chili Email: [email protected]
Penelope Beattie Tel: +61 8 9315 9009
Company Secretary – Hot Chili Email: [email protected]
ASX Investor
Investor & Public Relations (Australia) Email: [email protected]
Harbor Access Email:[email protected]
Investor & Public Relations (Canada) Email:[email protected]
or visit Hot Chili’s website at www.hotchili.net.au
Table 1 New Significant DD Results at Cortadera
| Hole ID _ | Coordinates | Azim | Dip | Hole Depth | Intersection | Interval | Copper | Gold | Silver | Molybdenum | Cu Eq | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | East | RL | From | To | (m) | (%) | (g/t) | (g/t) | (ppm) | (%) | |||||||||||||||
| CORMET003 | 6813372 | 336123 | 1068 | 59 | -60 | 1023 | 276 | 828 | 552 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 89 | 0.6 | |||||||||||
| including | 574 | 822 | 248 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 179 | 0.8 | |||||||||||||||||
| CORMET001 | 6814269 | 334736 | 976 | 74 | -60 | 350 | 86 | 156 | 70 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 11 | 0.6 | |||||||||||
| 222 | 350 | 128 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 14 | 0.3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| including at end-of-hole | 344 | 350 | 6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.6 |
Significant intercepts are calculated above a nominal cut-off grade of 0.2% Cu. Where appropriate, significant intersections may contain up to 30m down-hole distance of internal dilution (less than 0.2% Cu). Significant intersections are separated where internal dilution is greater than 30m down-hole distance. The selection of 0.2% Cu for significant intersection cut-off grade is aligned with marginal economic cut-off grade for bulk tonnage polymetallic copper deposits of similar grade in Chile and elsewhere in the world.
Down-hole significant intercept widths are estimated to be at or around true-widths of mineralisation
- Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the drill holes at Cortadera were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% × Cu price 1% per tonne × Cu_recovery) + (Mo ppm
× Mo price per g/t × Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm × Au price per g/t × Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm × Ag price per g/t × Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. Average fresh rock metallurgical recoveries were Cu=83%, Au=56%, Mo=82%, and Ag=37%.
Table 2 New RC Drill Results at Productora Central
| Hole ID _ | Coordinates | Azim | Dip | Hole Depth | Intersection | Interval | Copper | Gold | Silver | Moly | Cu Eq | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | East | RL | From | To | (m) | (%) | (g/t) | (g/t) | (ppm) | (%) | |||||||||||||||
| PRF001 | 6821677 | 323055 | 837 | 264.7 | -68.9 | 451 | 34 | 180 | 146 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 4 | 0.1 | |||||||||||
| including | 57 | 60 | 3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4 | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||
| & including | 116 | 120 | 4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| & including | 176 | 180 | 4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3 | 0.3 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF003 | 6821398 | 322916 | 825 | 38.6 | -60.2 | 326 | 20 | 120 | 100 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 21 | 0.1 | |||||||||||
| including | 24 | 50 | 26 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 12 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| - | 236 | 239 | 3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.1 | |||||||||||||||||
| at end-of-hole | 290 | 326 | 36 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 7 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| including | 290 | 302 | 12 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 11 | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF004 | 6821398 | 322916 | 825 | 270.9 | -61.1 | 321 | 26 | 30 | 4 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 52 | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| - | 37 | 93 | 56 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 19 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| including | 81 | 91 | 10 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 28 | 0.3 | |||||||||||||||||
| - | 162 | 165 | 3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 11 | 0.3 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF005 | 6821989 | 323069 | 810 | 88.3 | -79.1 | 504 | 270 | 272 | 2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.3 | |||||||||||
| - | 314 | 320 | 6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 7 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF006 | 6822161 | 323154 | 794 | 91.6 | -59.5 | 373 | 20 | 124 | 104 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 14 | 0.1 | |||||||||||
| including | 22 | 30 | 8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| & including | 43 | 51 | 8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 36 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||||||
| & including | 92 | 95 | 3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 44 | 0.3 | |||||||||||||||||
| - | 344 | 347 | 3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 90 | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF008 | 6822349 | 323033 | 772 | 102.8 | -58.4 | 432 | 50 | 58 | 8 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 6.8 | 10 | 0.2 | |||||||||||
| including | 50 | 52 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 25.1 | 25 | 0.4 | |||||||||||||||||
| PRF009 | 6822608 | 323120 | 762 | 251.2 | -59.5 | 432 | 246 | 278 | 32 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.1 |
Significant intercepts are calculated above a nominal cut-off grade of 0.1% Cu. Where appropriate, significant intersections may contain up to 30m down-hole distance of internal dilution (less than 0.1% Cu). Significant intersections are separated where internal dilution is greater than 30m down-hole distance. The selection of 0.1% Cu for intersection cut-off grade above is selected on the basis of exploration significance and is not meant to represent potential marginal economic cut-off grade for bulk tonnage polymetallic copper deposits of similar grade in Chile and elsewhere in the world.
Down-hole significant intercept widths are estimated to be at or around true-widths of mineralisation
- Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the drill holes at Productora were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% × Cu price 1% per tonne × Cu_recovery) + (Mo
ppm × Mo price per g/t × Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm × Au price per g/t × Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm × Ag price per g/t × Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. Average fresh rock metallurgical recoveries used were: Cu=89%, Au=58%, Mo=60%, and Ag=0%
Figure 2. Location of development study diamond drill holes at Cortadera
Figure 3. Plan view displaying the new significant drilling intersection recorded in CORMET003 targeting the eastern flank of the high-grade core at Cuerpo 3, Cortadera porphyry discovery.
Figure 4. Cross section (looking north) displaying the new significant drilling intersection recorded in CORMET003 targeting the eastern flank of the high-grade core at Cuerpo 3, Cortadera porphyry discovery. The majority of the Cu-Au-rich, 552m-long interval is hosted by early- and intra-mineralization tonalite porphyry intrusions, cut by 1 to > 5 % A- and B-type quartz veins, and adjacent pre-mineralization wall-rock. Relatively narrow intervals of lower-grade that occur up-hole and within the high-grade interval are characterized by post- and late-mineralization andesite and tonalite porphyry dikes. The true- widths of these dikes in this cross-section are < 30 m.
Figure 5. Cross section (looking north) displaying the new significant drilling intersection recorded in CORMET001 targeting the high-grade, near-surface Cuerpo 1 porphyry. The Cu-Au-rich intervals are hosted by early- and intra-mineralization tonalite porphyry intrusions and adjacent pre-mineralization wall-rock. The hole finished in 0.6% Cu-bearing tonalite porphyry, extending mineralization towards the east of that modelled previously. This hole will be extended by a diamond tail.