REG - Great Southrn.Copper - Results of Scout Drilling at Viuda Negra

Great Southern CopperAnnouncement

01/09/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 4145X  Great Southern Copper PLC  01 September 2025

 

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.

 

 

01 September 2025

 

Great Southern Copper plc

("GSC" or the "Company")

 

Scout Drill Results Confirm Discovery of Porphyry Gold System at Viuda Negra

 

First known occurrence of porphyry gold style mineralisation in Chile's
coastal belt

 

Great Southern Copper plc (LSE: GSCU), the company focused on
copper-gold-silver exploration in Chile, is pleased to announce results of its
scout diamond drilling programme at Viuda Negra which confirms the discovery
by GSC of a potentially large porphyry gold mineralised system.

 

Highlights:

·    Scout diamond drilling at Viuda Negra targeted anomalous gold-silver
results in outcrop(1)

·    All drillholes intersected porphyry-style gold mineralisation with
best intervals including;

o  DD004: 6.7m @ 0.39 g/t Au & 0.12% Cu from 43.1m, within broader
interval of:

·    121.5m @ 0.11 g/t Au & 0.05% Cu from 6.5m, and

o  DD002: 14.2m @ 0.21 g/t Au & 0.11% Cu from 11m, within broader
interval of:

·    73m @ 0.14 g/t Au & 0.1% Cu from 11m

·    Results confirm discovery of a potentially large, near-surface
porphyry gold system at Viuda

·    Gold mineralisation occurs in stockworks of quartz veinlets
characteristic of porphyry gold deposits in Chile's Maricunga Belt

·    Maricunga type porphyry gold deposits not previously recognised in
the coastal belt of Chile

·    Gold grades closely related to fracture-vein density

·    Highest fracture-vein densities and gold-copper grades consistent
with observed mineralising porphyry intrusive and overprinting potassic
quartz-magnetite alteration

·    Mineralised system confirmed by drilling, mapping and rock chip
sampling now measures 1.2 x 0.8 km in area and is open

·    Results confirm exploration vectors to the southeast consistent with
earlier scout RC drilling(1)

·    Planning in progress for follow-up surface mapping, sampling and RC
drilling

·    Company holds options to own 100% of Viuda and Viuda Negra

·    Viuda and Viuda Negra are part of the Especularita Project located in
Chile's coastal metallogenic belt with excellent access and infrastructure

 

Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer of Great Southern Copper, said: "Porphyry
gold deposits are large low-grade disseminated gold systems with project
economics typically determined by size, depth, location and grade. These scout
drilling results, at shallow depths and close to infrastructure, are therefore
very significant, clearly demonstrating that the Viuda prospect hosts the
potential for a large porphyry gold system and confirming the importance of
Especularita within an emerging copper-gold district.

 

"Importantly, the drilling has provided strong exploration vectors toward a
potentially higher grade centre of the system which will guide our follow-up
work, and we are excited to advance to the next stage of exploration.

 

"With gold prices at historic highs we are looking forward to advance this
exciting asset along-side our high-grade copper-silver project at Cerro
Negro."

 

Viuda - Viuda Negra prospects:

 

The Viuda Negra and Viuda prospects, located approximately 15km to the
southwest of the Company's Cerro Negro, comprises 18km(2) of concessions
centred upon a prominent hill of resistive silicified rock (Chingay Hill) and
surrounded by a large (2km diameter) bowl-shaped depression ("bajo") of
dominantly albite-pyrite-clay altered volcanics and intrusive rocks - a
geological setting typical of many porphyry deposits, formed by supergene
weathering and oxidation. The zoned, clay-rich alteration also produces a
distinctive colour anomaly in spectral imagery (Figure 1).

 

Viuda Negra is located approximately 1km to the east of Chingay Hill, where
recent scout reverse circulation ("RC") drilling intercepted zones of
quartz-sulphide veinlets with pyrite-albite-clay and magnetite-albite -clay
alteration grading up to 12m @ 1.5 g/t Au and 0.47% Cu(1).

 

 

Figure 1: Viuda-Viuda Negra Prospects. Satellite image showing drill collars
in relation to the large alteration-related colour anomaly

 

 

 

Results of Scout Diamond Drilling:

 

A total of four diamond drillholes for 553.05m were completed at Viuda Negra
as part of a scout programme designed to test for mineralisation below
outcropping ridges with anomalous gold and silver mineralisation defined by
surface mapping and sampling(1).

 

Drillhole VNE25-DD001 targeted outcropping sheeted Maricunga-style
banded-quartz veinlets where previous channel sampling returned grades up to
4.2 g/t Au and 0.12% Cu(1). The hole intercepted magnetite-albite-chlorite
altered microdiorite intruded by intermediate-argillic altered diorite
porphyry dykes and over-printed by stockworks of quartz fracture-vein
alteration (5-10 banded veinlets per metre). Assays returned highly
anomalous  gold values associated with the stockwork alteration including
6.25m @ 0.17 g/t Au and 0.05% Cu from 36m.

 

Drillholes VNE25-DD002 and DD004 were collared 250m southeast of DD001 to test
a prominent swarm of quartz veinlets within intensely silicified rocks, where
surface sampling identified highly anomalous silver values up to 29.9 g/t
Ag(1). Both holes intercepted similar microdiorites cut by diorite porphyry
dykes as in hole 001, but with significantly higher veinlet densities of up to
50 per metre.

 

Both holes returned broad intercepts of gold mineralisation with anomalous
copper and silver, including;

 

o  DD004: 6.7m @ 0.39 g/t Au & 0.12% Cu from 43.1m, within broader
interval of:

§ 121.5m @ 0.11 g/t Au & 0.05% Cu from 6.5m

§ Maximum assay of 0.55 g/t Au

o  DD002: 14.2m @ 0.21 g/t Au & 0.11% Cu from 11m, within broader
interval of:

§ 73m @ 0.14 g/t Au & 0.1% Cu from 11m

 

The discrete higher-grade interval in DD004 is associated with a porphyritic
microdiorite intrusive phase which is over-printed by abundant banded and
A-type quartz veinlets and intense, magnetite-rich potassic alteration. This
is interpreted as an early-mineral porphyry phase and suggests that
higher-grade centres may be present elsewhere within the system.

 

Drillhole VNE25-DD003, drilled 100m northwest of DD002/DD004, intersected a
shallow zone of veinlets and silica ledges within oxidised, leached rocks
before passing into diorite porphyry and microdiorite with relatively low vein
frequencies, thought to represent the edge of the main veinlet zone. The hole
returned shorter intervals of gold mineralisation, including 3m @ 0.12 g/t Au
from 1m and 15m @ 0.10 g/t Au from 8m.

 

The scout drilling confirms that gold and copper mineralisation is associated
with stockwork and sheeted dark-banded and A-type quartz veinlets within
widespread intermediate-argillic and magnetite-albite-chlorite altered diorite
porphyry intrusives. The mineralisation and alteration are typical of
Maricunga-style gold porphyry systems, such as Kinross Gold's Lobo-Marte
deposit (6.7Moz Au at 1.3 g/t(2)), Maricunga (4.3 Moz at 0.7 g/t(3)) and
Rio2's Fenix deposit (1.77 Moz Au at 0.48 g/t Au(4)).

 

Figure 2: Viuda Negra Prospect. Drillhole  VNE25-DD004 - 57-60m. Stockwork
and sheeted dark banded quartz veinlets. Assay 0.17 g/t Au.

 

 

Figure 3: Viuda Negra Prospect. Plan map showing drillhole locations, results
and previously reported surface assays(1)

 

 

 

Figure 4: Viuda Negra Prospect. Section along drillholes showing stockwork
zones, >0.1 g/t and >0.2 g/t Au intervals. System is open to the SE and
with depth.

 

Next steps:

 

The gold-enriched stockwork alteration associated with a mineralising porphyry
intrusive phase provides a strong exploration vector toward a potentially
larger and high-grade core of the system located to the southeast of Viuda
Negra. This result is consistent with the results of the earlier RC scout
programme which suggested mineralisation was increasing toward the southeast.

 

Follow-up ground exploration including detailed mapping and sampling will be
prioritised to target the next phase of RC exploration drilling to commence in
the new year.

 

 

  References:

1.    RNS  2553F (16 April 2025): Scout RC Drilling at Viuda Confirms
Potential for Mineralised Porphyry Style Au-Ag-Cu System

2.    Kinross Gold 2024 Annual Mineral Resource and Resource Statement

3.    Kinross Gold 2015 Annual Mineral Resource and Resource Statement

4.    NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study for the Fenix
Gold Project

 

 

 

Enquiries:

 

 Great Southern Copper plc             c/o BlytheRay
 Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer  +44 (0) 20 7138 3204

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

 BlytheRay
 Tim Blythe / Megan Ray                +44 (0) 20 7138 3204

                                       GSC@blytheray.com

 

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-silver deposits in Chile. The Company has the
option to acquire mining rights to 100% of Especularita project in the
under-explored coastal belt of Chile that is prospective for large scale
copper-gold-silver deposits. Chile is a globally significant mining
jurisdiction being the world's largest producer and exporter of copper.

 

The Especularita Project is 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 the exploration
project area. The coastal belt offers deposit type optionality for copper
including porphyry and IOCG style deposits as well as newly recognised
intrusive-related copper and gold deposits.

 

Great Southern Copper is strategically positioned to support the global market
for copper - a critical battery metal 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 as well as
high-grade Cu-Ag-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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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