REG - Great Southrn.Copper - Cerro Negro Permitting & Approvals for Drilling

Great Southern CopperAnnouncement

11/12/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20241211:nRSK5865Pa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 5865P  Great Southern Copper PLC  11 December 2024

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK
VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH
LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.  ON
PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS
INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

 

11 December 2024

 

Great Southern Copper plc

("GSC" or the "Company")

 

Permitting and Approvals for Drilling at Cerro Negro Finalised

 

Diamond drilling to commence targeting high-grade Cu-Ag-Au at Mostaza mine

 

Great Southern Copper plc (LSE: GSCU), the company focused on
copper-gold-lithium exploration in Chile, is pleased to announce that
permitting and authorisation for drilling at its Cerro Negro prospect has been
finalised with diamond drilling targeting high-grade Cu-Ag mineralisation to
commence at the Mostaza mine.

 

Highlights:

·    Permits and authorisations for drilling completed with proposed start
date in two weeks

·    Drilling contractor appointed and site inspections completed

·    Diamond drilling to target high-grade Cu-Ag-Au mineralisation at
Mostaza mine testing down-dip and along-strike extensions of the mineralised
zone

·    Initial plan for up to 5 to 10 diamond and RC drill holes for up to
500-1,000m

·    Scout RC drilling continuing at Viuda prospect targeting porphyry
type mineralisation

 

Cerro Negro is situated within the Company's Especularita project which is
ideally located close to national infrastructure including main highways,
powerlines, and towns. The project is located 170km from the port city of
Coquimbo, and 130km from Antofagasta Minerals' copper concentrate port at Los
Villos. The area lies at an elevation between 800 and 1200m and is accessible
year-round for all exploration and mining activity (Figure 1).

 

The project is located within the north-south trending Cretaceous metallogenic
belt that includes Teck's Carmen de Andacollo Cu-Au Mine 80km to the north,
and Pucobre's El Espino Cu-Au development project 30km to the south. At
Especularita, this under-explored belt intersects with a northwest-trending
structural corridor that controls the "Colorada" advanced argillic lithocap
and extends to the Piuquénes porphyry Cu-Au deposit in Argentina.

 

Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer of Great Southern Copper, said: "This
result concludes many months of hard work by our team in Chile and we are
looking forward to getting started with our drilling plans.

 

"Diamond drilling will initially focus on drilling out the known high-grade
copper-silver-gold mineralisation at the Mostaza mine, before expanding along
trend to the south where our recent exploration results have confirmed
evidence of similar mineralisation at surface.

 

"The upcoming drill campaign at Cerro Negro builds on the momentum of the
recently initiated scout RC drilling at the Viuda prospect. With the drill
programme progressing well, we look forward to reporting the results of this
work soon."

 

Drilling Plan at Mostaza:

Phase 1 diamond drilling at Mostaza is planned to test beneath high-grade
Cu-Ag mineralisation exposed in the mine pit and reported in historical
drilling beneath the pit, infill mineralisation between lenses 1 and 2, and
test extension of the mineralisation to the south of lens 2 (Figure 2,3).

 

The programme will comprise up to 5-10 diamond drill holes totalling up to
500-1,000m. Scout RC drilling may also be employed to target the strike extent
of mineralisation further to the south of the Mostaza pit testing the
potential for a broader zone of near-surface oxide copper mineralisation.

 

Planning and construction of drill platforms is in preparation for the
mobilisation of the drill rig to site.

 

Previous work at Mostaza Cu-Ag-Au mine:

Assay results of historical drill holes at Mostaza, including 25 diamond holes
(1,025m) plus channel sampling of mine adits were used to report a non-JORC
mineral resource estimate of 190,600t of measured and indicated sulphide ore
with grades of 1.2% Cu, 80 g/t Ag, and 0.45 g/t Au, plus an additional 63,000t
of inferred sulphide resource at depth(1).

 

A review of the historical drilling by GSC demonstrates that high-grade
(>1.0% Cu) Cu-Ag mineralisation at Mostaza is open in all directions
defining an initial drill target to expand the known orebody along strike and
to depth. The review also showed that 4 of the 25 holes failed to reach the
high-grade mineralisation target and 16 holes were terminated in lower grade
copper (>0.1% Cu) indicating that a lower cut-off grade has potential to
better define the mineralisation trend as well as up-scale the size of the
Mostaza deposit(2).

 

Results from recent geological mapping and sampling by GSC confirms that the
Mostaza mineralisation extends up to 1.5km along trend to the south(3). To the
east of the Mostaza mine mapping indicates potential for a larger mineralised
system up to 400m in width comprising an anastomosing network of
structurally-controlled Cu-Ag-Ba rich veins hosted within leached and oxidised
(lithocap), high sulphidation altered dacitic rocks.

 

 

Update on Scout RC Drilling at Viuda:

Scout RC drilling is continuing at the Company's Viuda prospect targeting
porphyry type mineralisation(4). To date 5 drill holes have been completed for
a total of 714m with down-hole geology indicating pervasive pyrite-albite-clay
(PAC) alteration of host rocks is dominant and suggestive of a large-scale
porphyry type alteration system.

 

Samples for the first 3 RC drill holes have been despatched to ALS
Laboratories in Santiago.

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Location of Cerro Negro prospect, Especularita Project, Chile.

 

Figure 2: Long section of the Mostaza Mine adapted from the 1981 Historical
Mineral Resource Estimate of Jeraldo Mining, showing Lens 1 and 2 and the
cross-sections and polygons used for estimation. Mineral resource estimates
are non-JORC. The results emphasise that the Mostaza Cu-Ag-Au mineralisation
is open in all directions.

 

Figure 3: Geological cross-section S-00 adapted from the 1981 Historical
Mineral Resource Estimate by Jeraldo Mining. Mineralisation remains open at
depth beneath the historic drilling intersections. (GSCU has not been able to
independently verify the historical channel sample or drill hole assay
results).

 

 

 

Cautionary note on references to Resources:

The Company cautions that all references to "resources", "mineral resources",
or "mineral resource estimates" in this RNS were calculated internally and
reported prior to the implementation of the JORC code and therefore are
non-JORC compliant. The Company advises that the resource categories used in
the historical estimates, for example "measured, indicated, demonstrated and
inferred", may not have the same meaning or degree of confidence as current
JORC categories. Historical records indicate that the quoted non-JORC
resources were calculated using the polygonal method based on underground
sampling, 1024m of drilling in 25 holes, and geological cross-sections and
level plans. GSC is presenting this information for historical context only
and is not treating it as a current mineral resource estimate. The Company has
not been able to independently verify the results of historical drilling or
mine channel samples.

 

 

References:

1.    RNS 4027V (08 July 2024): GSC signs Cerro Negro Purchase Option
Agreement,

2.    RNS 6179C (03 Sep 2024): GSC expands target at Mostaza mine, Cerro
Negro,

3.    RNS 3120K (31 Oct 2024): Cerro Negro results up to 4.64% Cu and
177ppm Ag,

4.    RNS 4525N (25 Nov 2024): Drilling commences at Viuda prospect,
Especularita.

 

 

Enquiries:

 

 Great Southern Copper plc
 Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer      +44 (0) 20 4582 3500

 SI Capital Limited
 Nick Emerson                              +44 (0) 1483 413500

 Gracechurch Group
 Harry Chathli, Alexis Gore, Henry Gamble  +44 (0) 20 4582 3500

 

Notes for Editors:

 

About Great Southern Copper

 

Great Southern Copper PLC is a UK-listed mineral exploration company focused
on the discovery of copper-gold and lithium deposits in Chile. The Company has
the option to acquire rights to 100% of two projects in the under-explored
coastal belt of Chile that are prospective for large scale copper-gold
deposits. In addition, the Company has the option to acquire rights to 100% of
a lithium project located in the Salar de Atacama district of Chile. Chile is
a globally significant mining jurisdiction being the world's largest copper
producer and the second-largest producer of lithium.

 

The two, early-stage Cu-Au projects comprise the San Lorenzo and Especularita
Projects, both located in the coastal metallogenic belt of Chile which hosts
significant copper mines and deposits, including Teck's Carmen de Andacollo
copper mine, and boasts excellent access to infrastructure such as roads,
power and ports. Significant historical small-scale and artisanal workings for
both copper and gold are readily evident in both exploration project areas.

The Company's Monti Lithium project is strategically located in the pre-Andean
region of Salar de Atacama which is Chile's premier lithium-producing region
with well-established lithium mining operations and infrastructure.

 

Great Southern Copper is strategically positioned to support the global market
for copper and lithium - both critical battery metals in the clean energy
transition around the world. The Company is actively engaged in exploration
and evaluation work programmes targeting both large tonnage, low to medium
grade Cu-Au and Li deposits as well as high-grade Cu-Au deposits.

 

Further information on the Company is available on the Company's website:
https://gscplc.com (https://gscplc.com)

 

Competent Person Statement

 

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is
based on and fairly represents information reviewed or compiled by Mr Sam
Garrett, a Competent Person who is a Member of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists and a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists. Mr Garrett
is the CEO and a shareholder of Great Southern Copper PLC. Mr Garrett has
sufficient experience that is relevant to the styles of mineralisation and
types of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to
qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the
"Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserves". Mr Garrett has provided his prior written consent to the
inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on information in the form
and context in which it appears.

 

This announcement includes information that relates to Exploration Results
prepared and first disclosed under the JORC Code (2012) and extracted from the
Company's previous LSE announcements as noted, and the Company's Prospectus
dated 20 December 2021. Copies of these announcements are available from the
LSE Announcements page of the Company's website: www.gscplc.com
(http://www.gscplc.com) .

 

The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that
materially affects the information included within the Prospectus dated 20
December 2021.

 

Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements

Some statements in this announcement regarding estimates or future events are
forward-looking statements. They include indications of, and guidance on,
future earnings, cash flow, costs and financial performance. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements preceded by words such
as "planned", "expected", "projected", "estimated", "may", "scheduled",
"intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential", "predict", "foresee",
"proposed", "aim", "target", "opportunity", "could", "nominal", "conceptual"
and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, opinions and estimates
included in this report are based on assumptions and contingencies which are
subject to change without notice, as are statements about market and industry
trends, which are based on interpretations of current market conditions.
Forward-looking statements are provided as a general guide only and should not
be relied on as a guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements
may be affected by a range of variables that could cause actual results to
differ from estimated or anticipated results and may cause the Company's
actual performance and financial results in future periods to materially
differ from any projections of future performance or results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. So, there can be no assurance that
actual outcomes will not materially differ from these forward-looking
statements.

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DRLGZMMZLGRGDZM