{"id":"hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","canonicalSlug":"hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","language":"en","title":"Hot Chili Intersects Wide High-Grade Copper-Gold Mineralization at La Verde Porphyry Target in Chile","summary":"Hot Chili Limited announced assay results from initial diamond drilling at the La Verde prospect within its Costa Fuego coastal copper-gold hub in Atacama, Chile, confirming significant shallow and deep porphyry intersections.","body":["Hot Chili Limited announced assay results from its phase one diamond drilling campaign at the La Verde target, located within the Costa Fuego copper-gold coastal project in Chile's Atacama region. Drill hole LVRD004 intercepted 214 meters grading 0.62 percent copper equivalent from a depth of 68 meters, including a higher-grade zone of 72 meters grading 0.88 percent copper and 0.24 grams per tonne gold. The discovery confirms that the La Verde magnetic and IP anomaly represents a major porphyry intrusive center located only five kilometers from the planned central processing facility site at Productora.","The Costa Fuego copper project benefits from low-altitude coastal infrastructure at 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level, adjacent to the Pan-American Highway, transmission grids, and within 50 kilometers of the port of Las Losas. The preliminary feasibility study for Costa Fuego is modeling an open-pit and underground bulk-tonnage operation designed to produce an average of 95,000 tonnes of copper and 49,000 ounces of gold annually over a 16-year initial mine life. The addition of higher-grade near-surface mineralized feed from satellite deposits such as La Verde has the potential to enhance early-stage cash flows and project economics.","Drilling at La Verde is continuing with two diamond rigs testing both lateral extensions along the structural corridor and depth continuity below 500 meters. Geochemical signatures indicate classic Andean copper-gold porphyry stockwork hosted in altered dioritic intrusive rocks, with chalcopyrite and bornite mineralization remaining open in multiple directions. Management confirmed that further assay batches from holes LVRD005 and LVRD006 are undergoing laboratory preparation in Copiapo, with results expected before the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.","Hot Chili management stated that the exploration program is fully funded through existing cash reserves and strategic partnership backing. The company maintains an active water concession granting access to seawater for maritime reverse-osmosis processing, eliminating dependence on scarce inland Andean continental aquifers. With global copper demand escalating driven by renewable grid modernization, electric vehicle architectures, and data infrastructure electrification, Costa Fuego is positioned as one of the few low-altitude, shovel-ready copper development projects with direct port access in South America."],"keyPoints":[],"sections":[],"text":"Hot Chili Intersects Wide High-Grade Copper-Gold Mineralization at La Verde Porphyry Target in Chile\n\nHot Chili Limited announced assay results from initial diamond drilling at the La Verde prospect within its Costa Fuego coastal copper-gold hub in Atacama, Chile, confirming significant shallow and deep porphyry intersections.\n\nHot Chili Limited announced assay results from its phase one diamond drilling campaign at the La Verde target, located within the Costa Fuego copper-gold coastal project in Chile's Atacama region. Drill hole LVRD004 intercepted 214 meters grading 0.62 percent copper equivalent from a depth of 68 meters, including a higher-grade zone of 72 meters grading 0.88 percent copper and 0.24 grams per tonne gold. The discovery confirms that the La Verde magnetic and IP anomaly represents a major porphyry intrusive center located only five kilometers from the planned central processing facility site at Productora.\n\nThe Costa Fuego copper project benefits from low-altitude coastal infrastructure at 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level, adjacent to the Pan-American Highway, transmission grids, and within 50 kilometers of the port of Las Losas. The preliminary feasibility study for Costa Fuego is modeling an open-pit and underground bulk-tonnage operation designed to produce an average of 95,000 tonnes of copper and 49,000 ounces of gold annually over a 16-year initial mine life. The addition of higher-grade near-surface mineralized feed from satellite deposits such as La Verde has the potential to enhance early-stage cash flows and project economics.\n\nDrilling at La Verde is continuing with two diamond rigs testing both lateral extensions along the structural corridor and depth continuity below 500 meters. Geochemical signatures indicate classic Andean copper-gold porphyry stockwork hosted in altered dioritic intrusive rocks, with chalcopyrite and bornite mineralization remaining open in multiple directions. Management confirmed that further assay batches from holes LVRD005 and LVRD006 are undergoing laboratory preparation in Copiapo, with results expected before the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.\n\nHot Chili management stated that the exploration program is fully funded through existing cash reserves and strategic partnership backing. The company maintains an active water concession granting access to seawater for maritime reverse-osmosis processing, eliminating dependence on scarce inland Andean continental aquifers. With global copper demand escalating driven by renewable grid modernization, electric vehicle architectures, and data infrastructure electrification, Costa Fuego is positioned as one of the few low-altitude, shovel-ready copper development projects with direct port access in South America.","category":"energy","region":"world","topics":["mining","metals","finance"],"eventDate":"2026-11-02","eventDateBasis":"source-event-or-period","publishedAt":"2026-11-02T15:46:21Z","modifiedAt":"2026-11-02T15:46:21Z","publicationBasis":"first-publication","preparedAt":"2026-11-02T15:45:50Z","sourcePublishedAt":"2026-10-27","translatedAt":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.hotchili.net.au/investors/asx-announcements/la-verde-copper-drilling-results-costa-fuego-oct2026/","name":"Hot Chili Limited","checkedAt":"2026-11-02","publishedAt":"2026-10-27"}],"translations":{"en":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","tr":"https://wellficent.com/tr/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","ar":"https://wellficent.com/ar/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","fr":"https://wellficent.com/fr/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","es":"https://wellficent.com/es/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","ru":"https://wellficent.com/ru/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026","pt":"https://wellficent.com/pt/news/hot-chili-la-verde-costa-fuego-copper-drilling-oct2026"},"corrections":[],"locations":[],"type":"news","classification":{"version":"1","dataKinds":["project-update"],"geographies":[{"role":"economic-scope","countryCode":"CL","subdivisionCode":null}],"evidenceBasis":["reported-observation"],"measurementPeriod":null}}