REG - Great Southrn.Copper - GSC Expands Especularita Project with 2 Agreements

Great Southern CopperAnnouncement

22/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0741E  Great Southern Copper PLC  22 February 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.

 

22 February 2024

 

Great Southern Copper plc

("GSC" or the "Company")

 

 

GSC Expands Especularita Project with Two New Agreements

 

New prospects include former Antofagasta Minerals copper-silver mine

 

Great Southern Copper plc (LSE: GSCU), the company focused on
copper-gold-lithium exploration in Chile, is pleased to announce that it has
signed two binding Letters of Intent (LOI's) which further consolidate the
Company's Especularita project and include two high priority prospects, Cerro
Negro and Artemisa.

 

Highlights:

 

·    Purchase option agreements extend GSC's existing claims and enable
the Company to earn 100% of the Cerro Negro and Artemisa properties, subject
to completion of annual option payments over 4-5 years

·    Cerro Negro includes the high-grade Mostaza Cu-Ag deposit previously
mined by Antofagasta Minerals

·    Artemisa includes alteration and historical artisanal copper workings
adjacent to existing GSC targets at Victoria and Lipa

·    Cerro Negro and Artemisa further consolidate GSC's control of the
extensive Colorada lithocap and provide additional evidence of potential for
porphyry copper+gold mineralisation at depth below the advanced argillic
alteration blanket

·    Artemisa agreement also includes the Viuda, Brecha Amarilla, Paclas
and Los Rulos prospects that include additional porphyry copper+gold and skarn
targets

·    Cerro Negro and Artemisa further enhance GSC's drilling pipeline
which includes the Teresita-Abundante scout RC programme that is now completed
with assays pending

·    Sampling, geophysics and metallurgy surveys are being planned to
fast-track these new prospects for drilling

 

Next steps:

 

The Company plans to fast-track its exploration efforts across the Cerro
Negro, Artemisa and Viuda prospects, including sampling, geophysics and
metallurgy programmes, with the aim of drill testing the prospects within 12
months of signing of the LOI agreements. Due diligence of the prospects is
currently under way.

 

In addition, scout RC drilling at the Teresita-Abundante prospects has now
been completed and assays are pending. The drilling has been designed to
provide proof-of-concept information for intrusive-related gold+copper systems
(IRGS) at Teresita and tourmaline breccia pipe copper mineralisation at
Abundante.

 

Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer of Great Southern Copper, said: "It has
taken years of patient work to bring these strategic concessions into GSC's
Especularita project and we are very excited to commence exploration of these
compelling targets in conjunction with our existing target pipe-line.

 

"Both the Cerro Negro and Artemisa prospects provide us with key geological
insights into the potential for porphyry copper-type mineralisation occurring
at depth beneath the Colorada lithocap and expand the area available for
exploration. Cerro Negro includes the historical Mostaza mine with high-grade
Cu-Ag hosted in advanced argillic altered rocks as expected below the base of
the lithocap and above a porphyry copper.  Artemisa includes breccia-type
copper mineralisation exposed beneath extensive lithocap alteration.

 

"The Colorada lithocap is vast, one of the largest under-explored lithocaps in
Chile's coastal metallogenic belt, and could potentially conceal one or more
porphyry copper centres. We know from the Carmen de Andacollo Cu-Au mine to
the north that similar alteration zones can be associated with large copper
deposits, and these two new prospects provide yet more evidence that such
mineralisation could exist at Especularita.

 

"We plan to assess rapidly both properties with detailed sampling, geophysics
and metallurgy programmes with a view to completing proof-of-concept scout
drilling of both targets within the next 12 months, including possible
deep-drilling targeting buried porphyry copper systems."

 

Cerro Negro Option Agreement:

A binding LOI has been signed with the vendor with the following summarised
terms:

·    The Company earns the option to purchase 100% of the mining rights to
exploitation concessions (total 83 ha) subject to the payment of annual option
fees over a five year period totalling US$2m comprising payments of:

o  US$50,000 - 90 days after signing of LOI (due diligence period)

o  US$50,000 - within 12 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$100,000 - within 24 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$100,000 - within 36 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$200,000 - within 48 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$1,500,000 - within 60 months following the signing of the Contract

·    The vendor retains a 1% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR). GSC may purchase
50% of the NSR for US$500,000 within three years of exercising the option

·    A 90-day due diligence period commences at the signing of the LOI

 

Artemisa Option Agreement:

A binding LOI has been signed with the vendor with the following summarised
terms:

·    The Company earns the right to purchase 100% of the mining rights to
exploitation and exploration concessions totalling 2,865 ha and comprising
five geographically distinct areas (Artemisa, Viuda, Brecha Amarilla, Paclas
and Los Rulos) subject to the payment of annual option fees over a four year
period totalling US$2.2m comprising payments of:

o  US$50,000 - 90 days after signing of LOI (due diligence period)

o  US$100,000 - within 12 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$150,000 - within 24 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$400,000 - within 36 months following the signing of the Contract

o  US$1,500,000 - within 48 months following the signing of the Contract

·    The vendor retains a 1% NSR. GSC may purchase 50% of the NSR for
US$2.5m within 3 years of exercising the option

·    A 90-day due diligence period commences at the signing of the LOI

 

Especularita project

The Company's Especularita project, located in Chile's coastal metallogenic
belt approximately 250 km north of Santiago, is centred upon the La Colorada
lithocap - a large, sub-horizontal blanket-like zone of intense advanced
argillic alteration that covers over 75 km(2).  Similar advanced argillic
lithocaps, or remnants of them, occur above many porphyry copper deposits
which can be totally concealed beneath the alteration. Examples of advanced
argillic lithocaps above major porphyry copper deposits include the nearby
Carmen de Andacollo Mine located 90 km north of Especularita.

 

GSC's exploration team has been systematically exploring the Colorada lithocap
and its environs, building up evidence for the existence of a buried porphyry
copper deposit in the area. These new acquisitions expand on this work and
secure access to new exploration ground.

 

Figure 1: Summary map of GSC's concessions (orange) relating to the
Especularita Project, Chile. New concessions relating to the Artemisa LOI are
highlighted in yellow and the Cerro Negro concessions in mauve. The location
of the lithocap advanced argillic alteration is indicated by the red dashed
polygon.

 

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)

 

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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