Hot Chili’s Cortadera could be a top tier copper-gold project

Special Report: Hot Chili’s (ASX:HCH) Cortadera copper-gold porphyry discovery in Chile could grow into a Tier 1 project if results from the 2019 drilling program are any indication.

This comes after the compiled and modelled results confirmed that Cortadera remains open and is growing at a faster rate than anticipated.

And it is not hard to see why.

Drilling to date has returned some very broad intersections of mineralisation with the latest being a 649m intersection at 0.4 per cent copper and 0.1 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a depth of 330m that ends in mineralised porphyry.

This includes a higher-grade zone of 440m at 0.5 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold with silver and molybdenum credits.

Even its second expansion hole – the final diamond hole of 2019 – delivered an unexpected consolation prize, returning an intersection of 92m at 0.5 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold from a depth of 648m to the end of hole.

While the hole was originally abandoned due to significant deviation in dip from its intended target, the surprise intersection now serves to broaden the width of mineralised porphyry along the northern extent of Cuerpo 3 – the largest porphyry at Cortadera.

Shallow reverse circulation (RC) drilling across potential enrichments zones above the other three porphyries – Cuerpo 1, 2 and 4 – also intersected copper and gold.

The most notable recent result from this shallow drilling is 20m at 1 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold from 102m at Cuerpo 1.

Hot Chili said the results added to the growing component of shallow, bulk tonnage, high-grade porphyries at Cortadera.

2020 Drilling

Hot Chili’s diamond drilling and clearing activities for 2020 are already well underway with the third expansion hole currently at a depth of about 360m down-hole towards its planned total depth of 1,000m.

This hole is designed to test the southern extension to Cuerpo 3 and is about 100m away from a previous hole that intersected a 596m zone grading 0.5 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold from a depth of 328m.

First results from this expansion hole are expected to be received in the coming weeks.

RC drilling of the Cuerpo 3 North and Cortadera North growth targets is also poised to start with the first of six deep holes at Cuerpo 3 North in the coming days.

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