Hot Chili has kicked a significant early goal in South America, confirming the discovery of a second porphyry centre at its La Verde copper-gold deposit in Chile after a step-out drill hole returned a solid 148-metre hit grading 0.44 per cent copper equivalent from just 36m downhole depth.
The intercept contained 0.39 per cent copper and 0.07 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and included a higher-grade 44-metre core section grading 0.56 per cent copper equivalent from 138m, comprising 0.5 per cent copper and 0.06g/t gold.
The new discovery, named “La Verde South”, lies south of and immediately next to the company’s existing La Verde copper-gold discovery, which forms part of its company’s massive Costa Fuego project on Chile’s coastal range. The two zones are so close that, at this stage, their shallow oxide/supergene zones appear to merge into a continuous near-surface blanket.
Hot Chili’s first step-out reverse circulation (RC) drill hole into the new target was put in about 250m south of La Verde’s previously defined footprint, grading more than 0.4 per cent copper. The company says the result successfully followed up a previously reported RC hole which hit 114m at 0.4 per cent copper equivalent from 86m, including 52m grading 0.5 per cent copper equivalent from 96m, comprising 0.5 per cent copper and 0.1g/t gold.
Building on that early success, Hot Chili punched a diamond drill hole into the new zone a further 100m south of the headline RC drill hit to test for deeper, higher-grade sulphide mineralisation.
While assays from the diamond hole are still pending, the core tells a compelling visual story. The company has logged a massive 307-metre downhole interval of copper porphyry-style mineralisation, beginning with a strong oxide zone running from 40m to 172m downhole depth before transitioning into a strong sulphide zone from 172m to its current depth of 347m.
Critically, the hole remains mineralised, with plans to push on to a depth of 500m. The sulphide zone is associated with disseminated chalcopyrite copper sulphide mineralisation and classic porphyry-style veining.
Drilling has confirmed a second porphyry centre, concealed beneath shallow Atacama gravels, with the potential to be of similar scale to La Verde. The upcoming addition of a maiden MRE for La Verde, and now confirmation of a much larger discovery than first recognised, is a game changer for the Company.
The company believes La Verde South could be similar in scale to the original La Verde discovery, which could effectively double the asset’s growth potential. Management says the site is ramping up, with four drill rigs now operating, two of which are focused on testing the new La Verde South discovery, while the other two rigs are engaged in infill drilling at La Verde, ahead of a planned maiden resource estimate.
The timely new discovery comes as Chile seeks to rebuild copper investment and production. The country’s state copper commission, Cochilco, says it expects global copper demand to grow 1.9 per cent in 2026, led heavily by energy transition and AI data centres. Chilean mine output, meanwhile, is forecast to fall 2.6 per cent to 5.27 million tonnes, reinforcing the market’s focus on new, scalable deposits.
Chile is also pursuing permitting reforms aimed at cutting approval times and unlocking more than US$100 (A$144) billion of potential mining investment, pointing to an overall backdrop that could improve the strategic relevance of more advanced copper projects in the country.
With its latest deep diamond hole still ploughing through promising copper sulphides and assays pending from another 25 holes in the pipeline, Hot Chili has set the stage for a potentially cracking run of results from its La Verde twins, with copper watchers sure to be keeping a keen eye on what comes next.
If the pending assays from the deep diamond hole come up with the goods and confirm what the early core is already suggesting, things could get very interesting and upbeat for this Chilean copper hopeful.
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