Hot Chili Ltd (ASX:HCH) has intersected further high-grade copper assays at the San Antonio deposit, part of its El Fuego Copper Project in Chile.
The strong results from the 5,000-metre program have increased confidence in the discovery of a large, high-grade extension to the historical San Antonio mine.
Highlighted assays include: 9 metres at 2% copper from 132 metres; 16 metres at 1.1% from 93 metres, including 5 metres at 2.7%; and 6 metres at 2.1% from 65 metres.
The results show strong continuity of mineralisation over a 700-metre strike length and remains open at depth and along strike.
Given the shallow nature of the mineralisation, Hot Chili anticipates San Antonio becoming a key addition to its large-scale open pit resource inventory of 1.5 million tonnes copper and 1 million ounces of gold.
READ: Hot Chili intersects shallow high-grade copper at Chilean project
The high-grades encountered have the potential to make a positive material impact on the head grade of the company’s future copper production plans.
The average copper grade indicated by the extensional drilling at San Antonio is around 3-4 times the average grade of Productora, which has an overall copper grade of 0.48%.
Planning for follow-up and resource definition drilling is underway, in advance of the submission of regulatory applications.
READ: Hot Chili expands copper potential of El Fuego project in Chile
San Antonio lies 20 kilometres east of Hot Chili’s Productora project, both of which are part of the consolidated El Fuego project.
The San Antonio mine has reportedly produced around 2 million tonnes at 2% copper, 0.3 g/t gold and 17 g/t silver from shallow depths since mining commenced in 1964.
The mine has had little modern exploration prior to Hot Chili executing a four-year option agreement in 2017.
It is just 5 kilometres north of the Valentina high-grade copper mine, where historical drilling has intersected 11 metres at 2.0% copper from 120 metres, including 7 metres at 2.7%.