Hot Chili has delivered another set of strong copper-gold drill results from its La Verde porphyry discovery in Chile, unveiling a massive 472-metre intersection just as the company accelerates work to integrate the discovery into its giant Costa Fuego project.
La Verde lies 30 kilometres south of the company’s planned central processing hub for Costa Fuego in Chile’s coastal Atacama region. Recently returned assays continue to expand the new discovery’s high-grade core and confirm the continuity of shallow, wide zones of mineralisation ahead of a planned maiden mineral resource estimate.
The standout diamond drill hole intersected a whopping 472-metre run grading 0.41 per cent copper equivalent from a shallow 49m downhole depth. That hit contained a significant high-grade run of 105.8m grading 0.70 per cent copper equivalent from 397m, which in turn included a hefty 32.6-metre zone going 0.90 per cent copper equivalent from 438m.
Other significant results included a second reverse circulation (RC) drillhole that returned 182m grading 0.50 per cent copper equivalent from just 24m depth. This result included a 74-metre downhole extension to a previously reported hit.
A third shallow RC hole, aimed at the up-dip extension of La Verde’s high-grade core, reamed out 272m assaying 0.40 per cent copper equivalent from 82m, with several higher-grade intervals, including 42m going 0.50 per cent copper equivalent, 16m at 0.64 per cent copper equivalent and 28m at 0.60 per cent copper equivalent from 252m.
The latest findings come against a backdrop of record-high copper prices, with the red metal trading above US$13,000 (A$18,142) a tonne, boosting the global hunt for new large-scale supply. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange broke past US$13,000 a tonne for the first time in history in early January 2026 and went on to hit peaks above US$14,500 ($19,540) later in the year, driven by severe supply constraints and strong structural demand.
With assays still pending for another 18 drillholes, the company has added a fourth rig to accelerate operations and has extended its drilling to six shifts per day, comprising two diamond rigs on double shift and two reverse circulation rigs running on single shift.
The operational ramp-up follows a temporary pause in July caused by what the company describes as a “once-in-fifty-year” rainfall event in the Atacama region. The severe weather prompted a government-declared state of emergency. Hot Chili says it worked with local communities to support recovery efforts, providing essential supplies and assisting with repairing access tracks to re-establish safe operations.
The company is now pushing hard to deliver a maiden mineral resource estimate for La Verde later this year, after which it plans to release a revised prefeasibility study for the entire Costa Fuego project, including its new La Verde discovery.
Management says it expects the integration of the La Verde resource numbers to significantly enhance the overall scale and economics of Costa Fuego, which already ranks among the world’s five biggest copper development projects not controlled by a major mining company.
With a formal submission of the Costa Fuego Environmental Impact Assessment slated for the second quarter of 2027, Hot Chilli is keeping its drill bits spinning at a critical time. And as Chile’s state-owned copper giant Codelco pushes for major investments to lift output, any new, large-scale copper discovery on its home turf seems bound to attract attention.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au
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