Acquisitions ship ‘pipeline of alternatives’ to extend Scorching Chili’s copper assets at Costa Fuego
- Scorching Chili is buying two beforehand producing copper mine areas which have by no means been drill examined
- The acquisition is in step with technique to extend assets at Costa Fuego to underpin a copper manufacturing profile of 150,000tpa
- First go RC drilling on the newly acquired Marsellesa and Cordillera tenements to start within the coming week
Particular Report: Flush with the continued success of its Costa Fuego growth in Chile, Scorching Chili is now transferring to accumulate two close by copper mine areas which have by no means been drill examined earlier than, regardless of beforehand reaching manufacturing.
With an indicated useful resource of 725Mt grading 0.47% copper equal underpinned by a pretty preliminary financial evaluation (PEA) (a tough equal to a scoping examine), Costa Fuego is quickly rising as one of many few initiatives on this planet able to delivering significant new copper provide that isn’t managed by a serious.
Underneath the PEA, Scorching Chili (ASX:HCH) estimated the US$1.05bn undertaking can be able to producing 112,000t of copper equal (95,000t of copper and 49,000oz of gold) each year over 14-years of a 16-year mine life.
Over this time, it might ship income and free money stream of US$13.52bn and US$3.28bn, respectively.
Publish-tax web current worth and inside price of return – each measures of a undertaking’s profitability – are estimated at US$1.1bn and 24% respectively.
Whereas definitely engaging, the corporate is seeking to enhance its useful resource base to assist a rise in Costa Fuego’s copper manufacturing profile to 150,000tpa forward of its pre-feasibility examine, which is anticipated to be delivered within the first half of 2024.
One of many first steps to realize this goal was signing a binding letter of intent to accumulate Bastion Minerals’ (ASX:BMO) ~56km2 Comet undertaking about 15km from Costa Fuego’s deliberate working centre.
Historic producers supply “pipeline of alternatives”
HCH’s newest possibility agreements to accumulate the Marsellesa and Cordillera copper mine areas about 10km from the deliberate central processing hub at Costa Fuego are a part of the corporate’s technique to extend assets.
Each mine areas have been privately held and traditionally exploited for shallow copper oxide and copper sulphide materials, however have by no means beforehand been drill examined.
Marsellesa measures 400x200m with mine workings exposing a number of zones of shallow-dipping, strata-bound (manto-style) copper mineralisation.
The smaller Cordillera mine workings expose outcropping porphyry copper mineralisation with well-developed stockwork and sheeted A and B model porphyry veining.
Together with Cometa, the brand new undertaking additions present the corporate with a pipeline of alternatives and extra optionality for the invention of recent mineral assets.
HCH can pay Marsellesa vendor Hermanos Pefaur as much as US$1.35m and a 1% web smelter royalty (NSR) to accumulate the undertaking whereas Mr Arnaldo Del Campo – the holder of the concessions comprising Cordillera – may obtain as much as US$4m and a 1% NSR from underground operations and 1.5% NSR from open pit work if the choice is exercised.
Drill plans
The corporate plans to start out first go reverse circulation drilling at each initiatives within the coming week.
It will comply with completion of drilling at its Corroteo exploration goal about 5km southeast of the first Cortadera porphyry copper-gold deposit.
This text was developed in collaboration with Scorching Chili, a Stockhead advertiser on the time of publishing.
This text doesn’t represent monetary product recommendation. It’s best to contemplate acquiring unbiased recommendation earlier than making any monetary selections.
