Cortadera just keeps growing for Hot Chili

Hot Chili is eyeing the potential of a big extension to its promising Cortadera copper camp on the Chilean coast as the results of a 40,000m drilling blitz start to show.

Hot Chili (ASX: HCH) hit an intersection of 836m grading 0.4 per cent copper and 0.1g/t of gold, or 0.5% copper equivalent, in step out drilling at its Cortadera discovery.

The find from diamond hole CRD0080 includes a high-grade zone of 436m grading 0.5% copper and 0.2g/t gold, or 0.6%CuEq.

Part of the Costa Fuego project, the strike extends the southern flank of the Cuerpo 3 porphyry zone at Cortadera by another 80m, with mineralisation extending to more than a kilometre below the surface.

It is the latest in a series of big, arguably world class drill hits from the Australian-listed Chilean-focused copper play as it looks to firm up the status of Costa Fuego as a potential Tier-1 deposit.

Bridging the gap

Adding intrigue to the story, another diamond drill hole, CRP0062D, while not significant, was able to show porphyry mineralisation “bridged the gap” between Cuerpo 3 and its nearby cousin Cuerpo 2.

Cuerpo 3 is shaping as the main star at Cortadera, with a strike length of 900m, 600m in width and over 1,200m in vertical extent and is the cornerstone of a maiden mineral resource estimate of 451Mt at 0.46% copper equivalent.

For those playing at home that comes to around 1.7Mt of copper and 1.9Moz of gold, with 9.9Moz of silver and 27,000t of molybdenum proving a kicker.

But the company is probing further into evidence the two main porphyry zones join up, with more results pending.

Part of a 40,000m drill program this year to test the extent of the Cortadera discovery, results from another 9000m are due back from the lab in the coming weeks.One result that will be watched closely is CRP0090D, which will provide further clarity on the so-called “gap zone”.

Good timing?

Expected to play a big role in the global shift toward electrification, copper is trading around all-time highs, fetching $10,373 per tonne on the LME this morning.

At those levels, and with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs suggesting decarbonisation could drive copper to dizzying highs of $15,000/t by 2025, it is no wonder explorers are eager to ramp up the hunt for the base metal.

With the sorts of returns those price predictions portend, companies that can build deposits of scale stand to be big winners.

When you add Hot Chili’s long-held Productora hub a few kilometres north-east of Cortadera, its current resource stands at 724Mt, grading 0.48% CuEq for 2.9Mt copper, 2.7Moz gold, 9.9Moz silver and 64,000t molybdenum.

The company says further updates on Cortadera’s progress are due soon with three rigs onsite looking for extensions to Cuerpo 1 and 3, and first pass drilling planned for targets at Cortadera North.

This article was developed in collaboration with Hot Chili Limited, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.