Southern Hemisphere boosts Llahuin copper-gold | Australian Markets

Southern Hemisphere Mining has firmed up its copper-gold-molybdenum footing in Chile having unveiled a beefed-up mineral useful resource of 218.2 million tonnes at 0.38 per cent copper equal at its Llahuin project north of the nation’s capital Santiago.

The company says the new JORC-compliant estimate, complied by Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants, incorporates its Central Porphyry, Cerro, and Ferro zones and accommodates 496,600 tonnes of copper, 654,900 ounces of gold, and 12,500 tonnes of molybdenum.

Critically, the current in-fill drilling has lifted a vital chunk of the useful resource into the measured class now totalling a strong 151.9Mt in measured assets at 0.4 per cent CuEq, 22.2Mt in indicated assets at 0.33 per cent CuEq, and 44.1Mt in inferred assets at 0.31 per cent CuEq.

Located 350km north of Santiago close to Illapel and simply 5km from grid energy in Chile’s Coquimbo Region, the Llahuin project sits within a well-established mining district additionally home to main copper mining operations reminiscent of Los Pelambres and Andacollo.

Situated at 1300m elevation, Llahuin advantages from sealed roads, non-potable water in shallow aquifers, and proximity to underused rail infrastructure.

The Llahuin deposit is a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum system with iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) traits, hosted in Cretaceous dioritic and granodioritic intrusions and surrounding volcanic items.

High-grade mineralisation, related to quartz stockwork and potassic alteration, extends alongside a 2.5km north-south strike, with management eyeing a potential 6km mineralised hall which stays open north, south, and at depth.

Recent drilling, significantly on the Cerro-Ferro deposit, has confirmed each areas type a single mineralised system, with current step-out holes focusing on NNE-trending, ESE-dipping vein units recognized to host gold at Cerro. Last yr’s discovery at Ferro South added constant grade and width, boosting useful resource numbers and pointing to more upside.

The JORC Resource underpins the long run potential of this project over a substantial strike of ~4km, with our shallow drilling including to the from-surface assets and prospects. This does two issues, first: to proceed advancing in the direction of mine scale and secondly confirms the potential of this system to supply massive tonnages at floor over such strike size has a high probability of substantial copper endowment at greater grades and deeper.

Stowell says the company sees appreciable scope for useful resource growth at Cerro-Ferro together with the Ferro West magneto-telluric goal and at its current discovery at Ferro South, contemplating the shallow drilling so far in these areas.

Backing that up, Southern Hemisphere has now outlined an exploration goal within the ranges of 260–340Mt at 0.20–0.30 per cent copper, 0.08–0.10g/t gold, and 50–60 components per million molybdenum – a conceptual goal that sits outdoors the present useful resource and consists of zones such because the Curiosity-Southern Porphyry goal.

While nonetheless early-stage, the goal is supported by wide-spaced drilling and soil sampling, with infill drilling deliberate to carry it into the fold.

Only the Central Porphyry zone has been systematically drilled under 200m, with mineralisation nonetheless open at depth, underscoring the upside for deeper exploration.

On the metallurgy entrance, copper recoveries from previous testwork have averaged round 84 per cent, with gold coming in between 41 and 57 per cent, and molybdenum between 14 and 56 per cent, with potential for enchancment utilizing specialised reagents.

The orebody additionally options average hardness and low deleterious materials, ticking key containers for flotation and processing.

Southern Hemisphere is now planning a 1400m diamond drilling program with JV associate FMR Resources within the ultimate quarter of this yr.

The program will goal the depth extensions and untested areas of the Curiosity-Southern Porphyry copper zone the place earlier drilling flagged the potential for higher-grade mineralisation lurking deeper down.

With a substantial useful resource at hand, strong exploration upside and drilling on the rapid horizon, Southern Hemisphere with its Llahuin project appears poised to grow to be a key participant in Chile’s copper-gold panorama with traders seemingly intently monitoring the motion because the company goals so as to add more tonnes to an already strong useful resource base.

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