Great Southern Copper (LSE:GSCU) reported first assay results from its scout drilling programme at the Especularita project in Chile, confirming porphyry copper mineralisation.
The London-listed exploration company, focused on copper-gold-silver targets in Chile, said hole RC009 at the Artemisa North prospect intersected 106 metres at 0.33% copper and 42ppm molybdenum from surface, including a higher-grade section of 54 metres at 0.46% copper and 66ppm molybdenum from 16 metres.
The hole tested beneath artisanal workings and terminated in chalcopyrite-mineralised granodiorite, with mineralisation described as open in all directions.
A second hole at the Victoria prospect, RC011, intersected broad potassic alteration with narrower zones grading up to 0.85% copper and 0.53g/t gold.
"This outstanding result for hole RC009 has greatly exceeded our expectations for the reconnaissance drilling programme and sets the scene for a very exciting exploration campaign to follow-up this porphyry copper discovery," said Sam Garrett, chief executive officer.
Garrett said the result validates the company's "drill-early" strategy and its model that the La Colorada lithocap, a large alteration system covering more than 75 square kilometres, may conceal large-scale porphyry copper deposits.
It marks the third significant discovery at Especularita in two years, following high-grade copper-silver at Mostaza and porphyry gold at Viuda.
Assay results remain pending for the remaining 13 of the 17 scout holes drilled across four target areas.
The company will begin detailed mapping and sampling around RC009 to prepare for follow-up geophysics surveys and further drilling.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Great Southern Copper's scout hole RC009 at Artemisa North intersected 106 metres of 0.33% copper from surface, with a higher-grade 54-metre section at 0.46% copper, confirming porphyry-style mineralisation beneath artisanal workings and open in all directions. This validates the company's thesis that the La Colorada lithocap system—covering over 75 square kilometres—may host large-scale porphyry deposits, and marks the third significant discovery at Especularita in two years; assay results from 13 of 17 scout holes remain pending.
The result supports the exploration case for Especularita as a district-scale opportunity and justifies continued drilling to test the scale and grade of the porphyry system. However, as an early-stage junior explorer, the company remains capital-dependent and exposed to commodity-price risk; a single scout hole, however encouraging, does not establish a resource or production pathway.
Insights assembled by AI. Editor-reviewed and grounded in tickstock’s coverage and proprietary knowledge graph.
Content is for informational purposes only, not financial advice.
