Hot Chili hits wide copper result at Productora
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Hot Chili (ASX: HCH) has recorded its widest high-grade drill result to date at the company’s Productora copper project in Chile.
The drill result from the eastern flank of the central resource area at Productora returned:
– 64m at 1.9 per cent Copper Equivalent (1.5 per cent copper, 0.4 grams per tonne gold, 147 parts per million molybdenum) from 124m down-hole.
Hot Chili is currently undertaking a drilling program aimed at delivering a second resource upgrade to Productora in the second half of 2013.
The company said the first results it had received from this year’s drilling campaign had demonstrated the component of shallow, high grade, copper and gold mineralisation at Productora is continuing to grow.
Resources at Productora currently stand at 165.2 million tonnes at 0.6 per cent copper, 0.1 grams per tonne gold and 132 grams per tonne molybdenum containing 920,000 tonnes of copper, 590,000 ounces of gold and 22,000 tonnes of molybdenum.
The high-grade, shallow resources at Productora currently stand at 53 million tonnes at 0.8 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold, which the company considers to enhance the overall economics of the project.
Other results from the recent drilling program include:
– 48m at 1.4 per cent Copper Equivalent (1.2 per cent copper, 0.2g/t gold, 65ppm molybdenum) from 42m down-hole, including 25m at 2.2 per cent Copper Equivalent (1.9 per cent copper, 0.2g/t gold and 117ppm molybdenum). Hole finishes in mineralisation (1.3 per cent copper, 0.5g/t gold); and
– 76m grading 0.9% Copper Equivalent (0.7 per cent copper, 0.2g/t gold, 103ppm molybdenum) from 44m down-hole, including 12m grading 2.1 per cent Copper Equivalent (1.6 per cent copper, 0.5g/t gold and 200ppm molybdenum). Hole finishes in mineralisation (1 per cent copper, 0.2g/t gold).
Recent drilling at Productora has focused on the definition of potential additional resources from an identified two kilometre zone along the eastern flank of planned central pit development.
The zone was previously considered as waste in the company’s recently announced positive scoping study.
Hot Chili said the results attained from the first extensional drilling directed towards this area highlights the potential for further growth in shallow high-grade material within the planned central pit development at Productora.
New drilling intersections in relation to the planned central pit design at Productora. Source: Company announcement
“The definition of additional resources from this zone has the potential to positively impact the economics of the company’s on-going Pre-Feasibility Study through significant strip ratio reductions,” Hot Chili said in its ASX announcement.
“Further drilling results are expected in the coming weeks and months ahead as the company advances towards the delivery of a second major resource upgrade to Productora in the second half of 2013.”
A first pass RC and DD drilling program is nearing completion at Hot Chili’s second growth project Frontera, located 70 kilometres south of Productora.
The company said it expects to mobilise the drill rig from Frontera to Productora in the coming week once all planned drill holes are complete.