Hot Chili (ASX: HCH) has continued to unearth thick zones of copper and gold mineralisation at its Cortadera project in Chile – with these latest results confirming a 300m expansion to known mineralisation.
These latest results comprise 350m at 0.6% copper and 0.2 grams per tonne gold from 344m, including 184m at 0.7% copper and 0.3g/t gold from 430m.
Additionally, results are pending for the interval between 694m downhole to the end of hole which is 1,133.5m.
Ongoing exploration
Meanwhile, a third diamond drill hole has reached a 360m depth and is targeting the northern region of the mineralisation zone.
First results from this hole are anticipated within the next two weeks.
Hot Chili will complete the hole to a 1km vertical depth.
Once results have been received from this hole, Hot Chili will begin step-out drilling.
The program will also include future shallow reverse circulation drilling to target near-surface high-grade zones that were intersected while drilling Cortadera’s three other outcropping porphyry centres.
Hot Chili anticipates ongoing exploration will produce a strong flow of results into the new year.
Advancing Cortadera
Hot Chili agreed to acquire Cortadera in February this year from a private vendor.
The project is about 14km from a copper “super hub” in the region which hosts Hot Chili’s Productora deposit which has a reserve of 166.7Mt at 0.43% copper, 0.09g/t gold and 138 parts per million molybdenum, for 716,800t of contained copper, 470,700oz gold and 23,100t of molybdenum.
Productora also has a resource of 236.6Mt at 0.48% copper, 0.1g/t gold, and 135ppm molybdenum for 1.32Mt of contained copper, 730,000oz gold and 32,000t molybdenum.
Both projects have access to power, water, roads and a port.
Hot Chili’s strategy is to establish Cortadera and Productora as a combined potential large-scale, bulk tonnage global copper-gold operation.
By midday, shares in Hot Chili were steady at $0.047.
