Hot Chili gives La Verde a clearer path toward its first copper-gold resource

La Verde delivers broad shallow copper-gold intersections

Hot Chili Limited (ASX:HCH; TSXV: HCH; OTCQX: HHLKF) has added another substantial block of evidence to the La Verde porphyry discovery in coastal Chile, with drilling continuing to outline a wide, near-surface copper-gold system ahead of its first Mineral Resource Estimate.

The standout result was an updated 188-metre intersection in DKP075 grading 0.56% copper equivalent from 24 metres, including 0.44% copper and 0.16 grams per tonne gold. The result extends a previously reported 132-metre interval and adds 56 metres to the reported mineralised zone. DKP078 returned 240 metres at 0.43% CuEq from 36 metres, including 54 metres at 0.60% CuEq and a further 42 metres at 0.50% CuEq.

Eastern flank drilling adds continuity

At the eastern flank, DKP067 returned 112 metres at 0.47% CuEq from 42 metres, including 26 metres at 0.70% CuEq. The hole is incomplete, with assays for its first 42 metres still outstanding. It was drilled from the same platform as DKP058, which returned 182 metres at 0.60% CuEq from 24 metres.

That pattern matters because the company is trying to turn a collection of strong drill hits into a coherent geological model. The latest results build on the September La Verde drilling results, which had already highlighted broad near-surface mineralisation and a potential higher-grade starter-pit zone. Hot Chili says more than 35,000 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling now inform the interpretation.

Maiden resource becomes the next valuation test

Hot Chili is incorporating the new assays into its geological and mineralisation models while advancing a maiden MRE targeted for later this year. The intended next step is to assess whether La Verde could provide higher-grade, shallow open-pit feed during the early years of Costa Fuego’s current 20-year mine plan.

The company has also linked the resource work to a revised Costa Fuego Pre-Feasibility Study, which it expects to inform the project ahead of a formal Environmental Impact Assessment submission in the second quarter of 2027. The potential value of that integration remains unproven: La Verde has no Mineral Resource or Reserve, no economic study currently includes it, and Hot Chili says there is no certainty it will enter a future mine plan or improve project economics. The La Verde cornerstone thesis therefore still hinges on the conversion of drilling into a defensible resource and mine plan.

Pending assays and technical assumptions remain material

Assays from 25 drillholes remain pending, creating another near-term flow of exploration data. Reported widths are downhole lengths rather than confirmed true widths, and DKP067 is only a partial result. The company also plans third-party confirmatory assaying of roughly 1,000 sub-samples before completing the La Verde MRE, following the use of AGS Cotecna alongside ALS laboratories.

CuEq values use assumed metal prices of US$4.50 per pound for copper, US$3,150 per ounce for gold, US$20 per pound for molybdenum and US$30 per ounce for silver. Recoveries are based on Cortadera as a proxy, including 83% copper and 56% gold, rather than a completed La Verde economic study. The headline intersections are encouraging exploration results; the harder question is how much of that mineralisation survives resource estimation, metallurgy, mine design and permitting.