Drilling Confirms Large, Higher-Grade Core from Near-Surface at La Verde (CNW Group/Hot Chili Limited)
Highlights
- Two diamond drill holes have visually recorded wide intersections of strong copper porphyry style mineralisation from near-surface- outlining a potentially significant up-dip expansion to La Verde’s gold-rich, higher-grade core, results pending
- In addition, latest assay results from Phase two drilling at La Verde (DKP005D) have expanded higher-grade copper and gold across the eastern flank of the discovery
- Diamond drillhole DKP005D, a 200 m diamond tail extension of earlier Reverse Circulation (RC) drillhole DKP005, recorded an additional:
- 47 m at 0.57% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au from 247.5 m depth (original end of hole), and
- 28 m at 0.49% Cu and 0.15 g/t Au from 316 m depth
- 2,900m of drilling complete, with assays pending for six diamond drillholes, all of which intersected broad widths of copper porphyry style mineralisation
Hot Chili’s Managing Director Mr. Christian Easterday commented,
“The convergence of mineralisation into a single higher-grade core at La Verde, extending from near surface, is a material development for Hot Chili.
Addition of a higher-grade starter pit would significantly strengthen the front-end of Costa Fuego’s 20-year mine schedule and be a game changer for scale and economics.
Costa Fuego is rapidly shaping as a low-risk, coastal contender to adjacent major copper developments in the Huasco Region and Vicuña District of the high Andes.
Low elevation, access to near-surface higher-grades, secured rights for non-continental water supply and low capital intensity – remove many of the significant challenges facing our high Andean neighbours.”
Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (TSXV: HCH) (OTCQX: HHLKF) provided another drilling update from its La Verde copper–gold (Cu-Au) discovery, located 30 km south of the Company’s Costa Fuego Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) Project (“Costa Fuego” or “the Project”) planned central processing hub in Chile’s coastal Atacama region.
Latest drill results from the Company’s Phase two diamond drilling programme continue to confirm significant expansions and convergence of a single higher-grade core from near surface at La Verde.
Latest assay results, from the Company’s second diamond drillhole DKP005D, have extended higher-grade Cu-Au mineralisation by approximately 60m along the eastern flank of the discovery. The drillhole was a 200 m diamond tail extension to earlier RC drillhole DKP005, delivering 47 m at 0.57% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au extended from the end of DKP005 (earlier RC hole), before intersecting a non-mineralised dyke over 22 m downhole, and then recording a second significant drill result of 28 m at 0.49% Cu and 0.15 g/t Au (Figure 2).
Including the new diamond tail extension, DKP005 now records 317 m grading 0.38% Cu and 0.1 g/t Au from 32 m to 349 m depth including the 22 m non-mineralised dyke (previously DKP005 recorded 200 m grading 0.4% Cu and 0.1 g/t Au from 48 m to end-of-hole).
Recently completed diamond drillholes DKD035 and DKD036 have visually recorded wide intersections of strong copper porphyry style mineralization from shallow depth directly above La Verde’s Au-rich higher-grade copper core.
Diamond drillhole DKD035 intersected a large zone of porphyry style mineralization from surface to end of hole depth at 278.5 m. DKP035 is located up-dip of the recently reported diamond drillhole DKD032 (see Announcement “First Diamond Drillhole Confirms Gold-Rich Major Copper Discovery in Coastal Chile” dated 27th Nov 2025), which recorded 529 m grading 0.41% Cu and 0.21 g/t Au from 41m depth, including 148 m grading 0.60% Cu and 0.30 g/t Au from 70 m depth.
Diamond drillhole DKD036 was drilled from the same collar location as DKD035 and has confirmed strong lateral continuity of this up-dip potential (Figure 3 and 4).
All eight diamond drillholes completed to date have recorded wide intersections of copper porphyry-style mineralisation. Assay results for the remaining drill holes are pending.
The Company looks forward to providing further updates on the results from drilling activities at La Verde.
Figure 2. North facing cross section A – A’ (± 40m clipping) of the La Verde porphyry system showing +0.2% copper (yellow), +0.3% copper (red), +0.4% copper (magenta) mineralisation interpolants before (top) and after (bottom) returned diamond assay results from DKP005D. Returned Cu grades shown on hole traces. Conceptual open pit shells displayed for $US3.50/lb Cu (blue) and $US6.00/lb Cu (green) displayed as dashed lines.
Figure 3. Plan view map of the La Verde porphyry system showing planned drilling compared with updated +0.2% copper (yellow), +0.3% copper (red), +0.4% copper (magenta) mineralisation interpolants. Conceptual open shells1displayed for $US3.50/lb Cu (blue) and $US6.00/lb Cu (green) displayed as dashed lines
Figure 4. North facing cross section B – B’ (± 40m clipping) through the La Verde porphyry system showing DKD035 diamond drillhole location. Conceptual open pit shells1 displayed for $US3.50/lb Cu (blue) and $US6.00/lb Cu (green) displayed as dashed lines.
Qualifying Statements
Conceptual Open Pit Shells Conceptual open pit shells represent Exploration Targets as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’ (JORC Code). They are based on completed exploration activities reported in the announcement released 19 May 2025 (‘Hot Chili Announces Latest Drill Results for La Verde, Doubling Porphyry Discovery Footprint’). The conceptual open pit shells were generated using copper (Cu) prices of US$3.50/lb Cu and US$6.00/lb Cu on a series of nested Cu grade shells. Other input parameters informing the conceptual open-pit shells (pit slope angles, mining cost, processing cost, etc.) were derived from values reported in the March 2025 Costa Fuego Pre-feasibility Study and are considered appropriate for the style of mineralisation encountered at the La Verde Cu-Au porphyry discovery. Any potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target shown is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource within the target area, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. Further exploration activities are detailed in this announcement and include (but may not necessarily be limited to) a program of diamond drillholes aiming to extend the mineralised footprint at La Verde. Drilling commenced on 22 September 2025, with the length of the program dependent on a number of considerations including (but not limited to) the results of the exploration activities and regulatory applications and approvals.
Qualified Person – NI 43-101
The technical information in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Christian Easterday, MAIG, Hot Chili’s Managing Director and a qualified person within the meaning of NI43-101.
Competent Person – JORC
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results and Exploration Targets for the La Verde project is based upon information compiled by Mr Christian Easterday, the Managing Director and a full-time employee of Hot Chili Limited, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG). Mr Easterday has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a ‘Competent Person’ as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’ (JORC Code). Mr Easterday consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears. The information in this announcement relating to previously reported Exploration Results for La Verde was previously reported in the Company’s announcements ‘Hot Chili Confirms Major Cu-Au Porphyry Discovery at La Verde’, ’Hot Chili Announces Latest Drill Results for La Verde, Doubling Porphyry Discovery Footprint’, ‘District-Scale Porphyry Cluster Potential Emerging at La Verde Cu-Au Discovery’ and ‘First Diamond Drillhole Confirms Gold-Rich Major Copper Discovery in Coastal Chile’ released to ASX on 26 February 2024, 19 May 2025, 29 May 2025 and 27 November 2025 respectively, which are available to view on the Company’s website at www.hotchili.net.au/investors/investor-centre/market-announcements. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements.
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