The standout result was an updated 188-meter intersection in hole DKP075 grading 0.56 percent copper equivalent from 24 meters, including 0.44 percent copper and 0.16 grams per tonne gold, extending a previously reported 132-meter interval. Hole DKP078 returned 240 meters at 0.43 percent copper equivalent from 36 meters, including 54 meters at 0.60 percent. On the eastern flank, DKP067 returned 112 meters at 0.47 percent copper equivalent from 42 meters, including 26 meters at 0.70 percent, though the hole is incomplete with assays for its first 42 meters still outstanding. A fourth hole cut 158 meters at 0.36 percent copper equivalent from surface.
The results build on September drilling that had already highlighted broad near-surface mineralization and a potential higher-grade starter-pit zone. Hot Chili says more than 35,000 meters of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling now inform the interpretation, with more than 20 drill holes still awaiting assays.
The discovery still has no mineral resource. Hot Chili (ASX: HCH; TSXV: HCH) is working to turn the drill hits into a maiden resource estimate that would feed an enhanced pre-feasibility study for Costa Fuego, its planned central processing hub in Chile’s coastal Atacama region.