Great Southern Copper plc (LON: GSCU) has commenced scout reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Artemisa South copper-gold target in Chile, while recent drilling at the nearby Victoria prospect has provided further evidence supporting the presence of a large-scale porphyry copper-gold system.
The latest exploration programme forms part of the company’s broader effort to unlock the potential of its Especularita Project, located within Chile’s prolific coastal metallogenic belt and close to several major copper deposits including Los Pelambres, Altar and El Pachon.
At Artemisa South, Great Southern Copper has begun testing a previously undrilled target where historical mine workings have identified structurally controlled copper-gold mineralisation hosted within granodiorite. The company plans to drill three scout RC holes beneath these workings to assess both the continuation of higher-grade mineralised structures and the wider porphyry potential associated with the nearby La Colorada lithocap.
Meanwhile, drilling at the Victoria prospect has now been completed, with five holes drilled for a total of 662 metres. Geological observations from the programme indicate that porphyry-related alteration becomes stronger towards the centre of the system, supporting management’s view that a significant buried copper-gold porphyry target may exist beneath the La Colorada lithocap. Samples from all five holes have been submitted for laboratory analysis, with assay results expected within the next two to four weeks.
One particularly encouraging result came from hole VIC26-RC014, which intersected a zone of quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration beneath the lithocap. Management believes this style of alteration may indicate increasing hydrothermal activity closer to the core of a potential porphyry system. Additional holes also encountered widespread magnetite-biotite alteration, pyrite and traces of chalcopyrite, further supporting the geological model.
Alongside drilling, the company has completed an Audio Magnetotelluric (AMT) geophysical survey across the western portion of the La Colorada lithocap. The results will be integrated with drilling, mapping and geochemical data to refine future drill targeting.
Chief Executive Sam Garrett said the Victoria drilling had delivered encouraging signs of porphyry-related alteration beneath the lithocap, while Artemisa South represents the final target to be tested within the current scout drilling programme. He added that the combination of drilling and geophysical surveys is helping to build a clearer picture of the district’s copper-gold potential.
For investors, the key takeaway is that Great Southern Copper continues to gather geological evidence supporting the existence of a large-scale porphyry copper-gold system at Especularita. With drilling now advancing across multiple targets and assay results pending, the coming weeks could provide important catalysts as the company evaluates the scale and economic significance of the mineralised system.
