REG - Great Southrn.Copper - High-grade scout drilling results at Teresita

Great Southern CopperAnnouncement

13/03/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 6635G  Great Southern Copper PLC  13 March 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.

 

13 March 2024

 

Great Southern Copper plc

("GSC" or the "Company")

 

 

10-15m Wide Vein Intersected at Teresita with Grades up to 2.03g/t Au and
1.31% Cu

 

Scout RC drilling programmes confirm IRGS and Breccia mineralisation targets

 

Great Southern Copper plc (LSE: GSCU), the company focused on copper-gold and
lithium exploration in Chile, is pleased to announce that early results
received for its scout RC drilling programmes at its Teresita and Abundante
prospects confirm the high-grade Cu and Au target models.

 

Highlights:

·    Intrusive related gold-copper system (IRGS) confirmed at Teresita
with high-grade Au-Cu results intersected in quartz-sulphide veins up to 15m
wide,

·    Significant results for scout RC hole ESP23RC010 include;

§ 20m at 0.57g/t Au, 5.48g/t Ag and 0.43% Cu from 35m, including

·    3m at 1.1 g/t Au, 8.71g/t Ag and 0.79% Cu from 39m and,

·    3m at 1.65g/t Au, 9.03g/t Ag and 0.69% Cu from 48m

·    High grade Au and Cu, up to 2.03g/t Au and 1.31% Cu hosted in
quartz-sulphide veins

·    Anomalous As-Bi-Co-Sb-Te assay grades consistent with the Au-Cu
confirms IRGS style mineralisation and provides pathfinder geochemistry for
follow-up exploration

·    Results highlight significance of similar IRGS high-grade Cu+Au
system at Victoria prospect

·    Broad zones of anomalous copper from Abundante scout RC drilling
confirms tourmaline breccia target including;

§ ESP23RC002: 17m at 0.52% Cu from 24m

·    High grade copper up to 1.83% Cu was intersected in breccia which
remains open at depth and to the west and south

·    Planning for follow-up exploration to define prospect-scale drilling
now in progress

·    Assay results still pending for five drill holes at Teresita

 

Next steps:

The Company will await the final results of the scout drilling before making
definitive plans for follow-up exploration at Teresita and Abundante.
Preliminary results have confirmed the IRGS model type for mineralisation at
Teresita where high-grade gold and copper is hosted in quartz-sulphide veins
that are over-printed near surface by late-stage carbonate veining. Individual
veins within the broader Teresita system "pinch and swell". However,
quartz-sulphide veins may become more coherent with depth below the surface
carbonate alteration. Gold and copper grades vary throughout the system.
Evidence of high-grade cores to the veins with broader lower-grade haloes is
encouraging. Anomalous Ag-As-Bi-Sb-Co-Te pathfinder geochemistry is
significant from an exploration perspective.

 

Follow-up exploration will focus on delineating the vein targets in more
detail for Phase 2 prospect-scale drilling programmes. This work may include
detailed soil geochemistry across the whole system and geophysics (magnetics,
IP, EM).

 

Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer of Great Southern Copper, said: "These
results have exceeded our expectations and, more importantly, confirm the
target models that we have developed from our surface exploration work to
date. Intersecting a 10-15m wide mineralised vein at shallow depths supporting
grades over 2g/t Au and 1% Cu beneath a target outcrop 2m wide and assaying
0.6g/t Au is very encouraging.

 

"The Teresita scout RC results are very promising given the potential scale of
the system mapped at surface, which to date demonstrates a cumulative strike
length of over 5km.

 

"Given that the same style of IRGS mineralisation has been discovered at the
Victoria prospect, these results are particularly exciting as they indicate
that GSC's Especularita project hosts at least two of these large-scale,
high-grade IRGS systems."

 

Drilling programme and sampling:

GSC has recently completed two scout RC drilling programmes at the Teresita
and Abundante prospects comprising a total of 15 drill holes for 1,018 metres
(Figure 1). Preliminary results have been received for holes ESP23RC001 to
ESP23RC010. The programmes targeted surface mapping and rock chip geochemistry
results and were designed to confirm the interpreted IRGS and breccia styles
of mineralisation.

 

The RC drilling method employed at Especularita generates between 35 - 40kg of
rock cuttings, or "chips", per metre. Representative samples for each metre of
the cuttings are collected in large, individually numbered plastic bags, which
are then weighed and transferred to a riffle splitter where they are separated
(or split), and homogenised, three times into two duplicate samples of
approximately 5kg each. GSC personnel then ticket and label one of the ±5kg
samples using preprinted ticket books.

 

Finally, standard reference materials (SRM's or Standards), blanks, and
duplicate samples are inserted into the sample sequence for the purpose of
quality assurance / quality control (QAQC). The second ±5kg sample is used
for geological description and stored for reference. An additional reference
selection of cuttings for each metre is also retained in labelled boxes as a
record of the geology of the drill hole.

 

At the completion of each hole the representative 5kg samples were transported
as a batch from the field and delivered by Company employees to ALS
Laboratories in Santago or La Serena where they are prepared for analysis
(weighed, dried, crushed and pulverised). A subsequent 200g split of each
sample pulp is then forwarded to the ALS geochemical laboratory in Lima, Peru,
where samples are assayed for gold (30g fire assay with ICP-AES finish, ALS
code AU-ICP21) and 48 major, base and trace elements by ICP-MS following a
four-acid digest (ALS code ME-MS61).

 

RC drilling was selected for this initial proof-of-concept stage as it is
faster and cheaper than diamond drilling and allows for the rapid testing of
more targets for the same cost.

 

Teresita drilling:

At Teresita 534m of drilling was completed in nine RC scout drill holes
(ESP23RC007 to ESP23RC015) to test for Au-Cu mineralisation in
quartz-carbonate vein-breccias. The Teresita quartz-carbonate vein swarm has a
cumulative strike length over 5km and rock chip samples returned grades up to
13.7g/t Au(1) and 7.22% Cu(2). Results have been received for holes RC007 to
RC010.

 

Holes were drilled to test the continuity, thickness, and grade of
quartz-carbonate vein-breccias below the surface outcrops, where they vary
from less than a metre to several metres in width and from barren to
mineralised. Holes ESP23RC007 and RC008 tested the Central Vein, hole RC009
the Grossa Vein, and RC010 the Gato Negro vein (Figure 1). All holes
intersected the mineralised veins at depth with anomalous Au (>0.1g/t Au)
and Cu (>0.1% Cu) grades.

 

Holes RC007 and 008 at the Central Vein indicate an anastomosing sheeted
quartz vein zone with sporadic, weakly anomalous Au and Cu, separate to a
barren carbonate-only zone. Hole RC009 at Grossa cut a weakly anomalous
quartz-carbonate vein and a deeper barren granular quartz zone.

 

At Gato Negro, hole ESP23RC010 cut well mineralised
chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz-carbonate vein-breccia between 35-55m down-hole
(Figure 2). Significant gold, silver, and copper intervals include;

 

·    20m with 0.57 ppm Au, 5.48 ppm Ag, 0.43% Cu from 35m, including:

o  7m with 0.68 ppm Au, 4.33 ppm Ag, 0.42% Cu from 35m including

§ 3m with 1.1 ppm Au, 8.71 ppm Ag, 0.79% Cu from 39m including

·    1m with 2.03 ppm Au, 15.65 ppm Ag, 1.31% Cu from 40m, and

o  9m with 0.73 ppm Au, 8.06 ppm Ag, 0.59% Cu from 46m, including

§ 3m with 1.65 ppm Au, 9.03 ppm Ag, 0.69% Cu from 48m.

 

Abundante drilling:

At Abundante 484m of drilling was completed in six RC drill holes (ESP23RC001
to RC006) to test beneath the historical copper mine where rock chip samples
from mine walls returned values up to 3.39% Cu and 0.15g/t Au in tourmaline
breccia(3, 4). Analytical results have been received for all holes.

 

Holes ESP23RC001 to RC004 were drilled to test the continuity of the breccia
(Figure 3). All holes intersected tourmaline-chlorite matrix breccia between
20 and 50m depth confirming lateral extension of the breccia. Anomalous copper
mineralisation above 0.1% Cu is observed in all holes, with holes RC002 and
RC004 returning significant copper values in the hanging wall of the
"Abundante" fault before passing into unmineralised footwall. Significant
assay results include;

 

ESP23RC002

§ 17m with 0.5212 % Cu, 0.017 ppm Au, 1.11 ppm Ag from 24m, including

§ 2m with 1.1225 % Cu, 0.015 ppm Au, 1.775 ppm Ag from 30m

 

ESP23RC004

§ 21m with 0.3045 % Cu, 0.012 ppm Au, 0.93 ppm Ag from 19m, including

§ 1m with 1.825 % Cu, 0.097 ppm Au, 1.42 ppm Ag from 38m

 

Holes ESP23RC005 and ESP23RC006 were drilled to the North and East to test for
further extensions. Although breccia is locally observed in drill cuttings, it
is not mineralised.

 

Copper mineralisation at Abundante remains open to depth as well as to the
south and west. The potential for mineralisation at depth on the footwall side
of the Abundante fault is also considered.

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Collar location map for scout RC drillholes at Teresita and
Abundante with rock chip gold assays, Especularita.

 

Figure 2: Cross-section for scout RC hole ESP23RC010 targeting Gato Negro
vein, Teresita.

 

 

References:

1.      RNS 5675F (11 July 2023): High grade Cu-Au in rock chip samples
from Teresita.

2.      RNS 2146H (22 Nov 2022): Early exploration at Especularita
identifies multiple copper targets and completion of drilling at San Lorenzo.

3.      RNS 2962G (18 July 2023): Samples up to 3.39% Cu from Abundante
Prospect.

4.      RNS 6990V (05 December 2023): Scout RC drilling due to commence
at 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.

 

 

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