Hot Chili – Road to 2025
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Major copper discovery for Hot Chili
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Hot Chili -Major Copper-Gold Discovery, Large Scale Appeal
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Hot Chili leverages existing port, steps into five-year MoU deal for Costa Fuego copper-gold project
- Hot Chili has entered into an MoU with the existing Las Losas port facility in Chile
- The two parties will work together to undertake a port feasibility study for a bulk tonnage copper concentrate facility to be developed
- Hot Chili plans to fund 20% of the US$4.6m study for two years
Special Report: Hot Chili has executed a five-year MoU deal with Puerto Las Losas SA (PLL) to evaluate bulk tonnage loading alternatives for copper concentrate from the Costa Fuego project in Chile.
The MoU with PLL provides Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) the right (for up to five years) to negotiate a binding port services agreement for Costa Fuego, which would include a ‘take or pay volume’ clause based on at least 80% of the project’s future annual concentrate production.
Under the terms of the agreement, HCH and PLL will undertake a port feasibility study, comprising pre-feasibility engineering (FEL2), feasibility engineering (FEL3) and environmental studies.

HCH will fund 20% of the port feasibility study, which is estimated to have a total cost of ~US$4.6m and will take roughly two years to complete.
Upon completion of the port feasibility study – and provided that a shipping solution for loading copper concentrates is agreed at existing or potential infrastructure in PLL – HCH will have a right of first refusal (ROFR) to ship copper concentrates through PLL’s facilities in Huasco Bay for a three-year period.
PLL may terminate the ROFR by reimbursing HCH’s port feasibility study costs.
Unlocking a significant copper infrastructure corridor
“Leveraging an existing port, 50km away, into a bulk concentrate export facility has the potential to unlock significant capital and operating savings for Costa Fuego and other potential mine developers in the Huasco region of Chile,” HCH managing director Christian Easterday says.
“Hot Chili plans to jointly develop a significant copper infrastructure corridor, enabling our own production and unlocking multiple projects within the region, which would benefit significantly from desalinated water supply and proximal bulk copper concentrate port facilities.”
Port feasibility study to begin shortly
Within the coming months, PPL will be responsible for selecting a suitably qualified, top-tier, independent engineering company to carry out a port feasibility study.
This study will evaluate bulk handling and loading alternatives for copper concentrates using the existing Las Losas port facilities, potentially with or without modifying the existing infrastructure for the port in operation.
Representatives from both PPL and HCH will form a technical committee to progress the studies and within the first month, aim to define key project deliverables, as well as a timetable for management of the completion of the feasibility study workstreams.
Hot Chili reveals new plan for Chilean water concessions
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Hot Chili has applied for a second maritime concession in Chile as it looks to develop a new company that will have an overflowing stream of water infrastructure assets.
Management says the new company will be aimed at servicing the growing demand for the valued commodity from the community, other mining companies and local farmers within the fast-growing region.
The company today confirmed it had submitted its latest maritime concession application to support the potential for a whopping long-term, regional multi-user seawater and desalination water supply network for the Huasco valley area of the Southern Atacama region of Chile that sits about 600km north of the Santiago capital. The second application includes brine discharge for potential seawater desalination operations as part of a push to deliver both raw seawater and desalinated water from its proposed network.
Hot Chili is now preparing to transfer all of its water assets into the new standalone company that it will still control. It says positive discussions with several potential desalinated water customers in the Huasco Valley region have already taken place, in addition to engaging with potentially suitable infrastructure partners.
It has also held talks with Chilean Government regulators to determine the best approach for its proposed plans and is reviewing the potential for direct government support to assist with driving the project forward. Management believes such a positive development within the region could trigger substantial local mining investment and deliver impressive growth to the company’s market value.
Water scarcity is THE critical issue for new mine developments in the Atacama on both the Chilean and Argentinean side of the Andes. Hot Chili is the only Company holding most of the necessary permits required to provide desalinated water to the Huasco Valley – a prolific region for potential new global copper supply needed to support global electrification and decarbonation. Securing these assets has involved over a decade of commitment.
Hot Chili executive vice-president José Ignacio Silva
The company’s recently-completed concept study for a staged water network development indicated the viability of the project at an initial 300 litres per second scale, with an eventual ramp-up to 3700 litres per second.
The study assessed a potential 100 per cent renewable energy-driven desalination water project with the potential to supply those needing a reliable water supply, such as agricultural, community and new mining companies within the Huasco Valley region near to where the company’s Costa Fuego copper project sits. The region contains six major undeveloped copper projects and two new, large-scale copper discoveries, with all projects requiring desalinated water supply.
Hot Chili says it holds the only granted maritime water concession and most of the necessary permits to be able to provide much-needed critical water to the region. It says the Chilean Government is actively encouraging investment in multi-user water networks in the region, with water scarcity being one of the biggest obstacles facing new global copper supply.
The compelling Costa Fuego project’s total resource sits at 3.62 million tonnes of copper-equivalent, with resources in the indicated category of 798 million tonnes grading 0.45 per cent copper-equivalent for 2.9 million tonnes of copper, 2.6 million ounces of gold, 12.9 million ounces of silver and 68,000 tonnes of molybdenum.
The total resource classified as inferred is 203 million tonnes at 0.31 per cent copper-equivalent for 500,000 tonnes of copper, 400,000 ounces of gold, 2.4 million ounces of silver and 12,000 tonnes of molybdenum.
The Costa Fuego project comprises the Cortadera, Productora, Alice and San Antonio deposits and management says they are all in close proximity and sit at low altitude – about 800m to 1000m.
Hot Chili’s push to build an in-demand water supply network could see it deliver tremendous value to the region and it may well find itself swimming in proposals from potential users.
Hot Chili heats up with new Chilean copper-gold patch
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Hot Chili has nailed down the right to acquire a lucrative 140-square-kilometre patch of the historical Domekyo copper-gold mining centre, a mere 30km from its flagship Costa Fuego copper hub in Chile.
And it is a timely acquisition for the ASX-listed explorer as the price for the red metal hit US$10,000 (AU$15,244) a tonne last week for the first time since 2022. Supply disruptions following the forced closure of one of the world’s biggest copper mines in Panama late last year and ongoing drought conditions in Zambia that have impacted copper production, married up with increasing demand from green industries, have spurred the significant copper rally.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Hot Chili – via its Chilean subsidiary La Frontera – will stump up US$4 million (AU$6.1 million) in staged payments over four years to earn a 100 per cent interest in the 12 exploration and 14 exploitation concessions at Domeyko. Additionally, the vendor will be granted a 1 per cent net smelter royalty (NSR) for the concession package and Frontera will have the first right of refusal to buy it back.
The Domeyko mining centre lays claim to several significant historical copper-gold mines where previous operators exploited the shallow oxide mineralisation, but never ventured deeper to test the potential copper sulphide source. Interestingly, management says the area is prospective for both porphyry and structurally-hosted styles of copper-gold mineralisation.
Hot Chili has been on a land grab of late, picking up the nearby historical Marsellesa and Cordillera copper mines and the Cometa project, all within an easy 30km trucking distance to its developing Costa Fuego project.
However, Domeyko – which boosts its land-holding by a hefty 25 per cent –is its biggest acquisition since 2019 when it stitched up its Cortadera concessions that sit adjacent to its Productora and San Antonio copper assets and collectively make up Hot Chili’s Costa Fuego copper hub.
The three deposits at Costa Fuego have a combined mineral resource estimate of 798 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 0.45 per cent copper-equivalent for 2.9 million tonnes of copper, 2.6 million ounces of gold, 12.9 million ounces of silver and 68,000 tonnes of molybdenum
Hot Chili released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in June last year showing the project will spit out a massive $309 million a year on average in free cash across a 16-year mine life. With the impressive set of numbers outlined, the project is emerging as one of the world’s biggest and lowest-cost copper plays, with an estimated post-tax net present value (NPV) of US$1.1 billion (AU$1.66 billion).
Management says it is on track to deliver a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the project in the second half of this year.
Costa Fuego sits in the low coastal range of the Atacama Region, 600km north of the Chilean capital of Santiago in a country famed for its copper resources. With a compelling portfolio of new projects in the pipeline, all within easy trucking distance to Costa Fuego, Hot Chili looks set to strike at a time when the copper price is just starting to heat up.
Hot Chili to pump in $29.9m to develop Chilean copper play
Hot Chili has loaded its financial base with a $29.9 million fundraising campaign aimed at supercharging its Costa Fuego copper hub in Chile – at a time when the reddish metal’s price is at a 60-year high.
The $119.45 million market-capped company’s significant raise, which it said drew strong demand from Australian and overseas institutional investors, coincides with a rising copper price sitting at about US$4.57 (A$6.91) per pound.
Management says it expects its private $24.9 million placement to be complemented by a further $5 million share purchase plan (SPP) to reach the $29.9 million in new funding. Shares were offered at $1 for both the placement and the SPP.
Following the completion of the raise, Hot Chili says it will move to finish its Costa Fuego prefeasibility study (PFS) in the second half of the year, further secure its water supply and also create a new water company, plug in 25,000m of drilling, pursue more exploration and land consolidation in the next 18 months and kick off a “bankable” feasibility study.
The boost to its finances follows hot on the heels of its recent half-yearly figures that showed it already had A$13.3 million in cash at the bank after reducing its 2024 commitments by US$10 million (A$15.12 million) through consolidating its option agreements, securing its water supplies and filing its technical report for the Costa Fuego copper-gold project.
We control large-scale assets in two of the most critical commodities of our time – copper and water – with two of the most desirable attributes – low-risk and near-term. In combination with a rising copper price which indicates the initial stages of a new copper price cycle driven by lack of supply, this gives the Company confidence to accelerate its growth and development plans while preserving control of these assets for our shareholders.Hot Chili managing director Christian Easterday
Easterday said the company had received increasing interest from potential strategic funding parties to help Costa Fuego’s copper-gold development and its recently-announced water supply studies. He said the project remains one of a limited number of “globally-significant” copper developments that was not in the hands of a major mining company.
Costa Fuego’s measured and indicated resource sits at 798 million tonnes at 0.45 per cent copper equivalent for 3.62 million tonnes of copper equivalent, containing 2.91 million tonnes of copper, 2.64 million ounces of gold, 12.8 million ounces of silver and 68,100 tonnes of molybdenum.
Hot Chili also recently inked a deal with Osisko Gold Royalties, pocketing US$15 million (A$22.68 million) in exchange for a 1 per cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty on copper and a 3 per cent NSR on gold across the Costa Fuego project. Management says the Osisko investment provided an endorsement of its project and its economics from one of North America’s leading royalty-streaming groups.
In addition, the company consolidated its tenure while expanding its ground footprint and kicked off its exploration and resource expansion drilling programs. It updated its resource numbers and obtained results from its initial drilling of its latest satellite targets at Marsellesa, Cordillera and Corroteo, with some good copper hits including 25m grading 0.4 per cent copper from surface with 10m at 0.8 per cent from just 7m depth at Marsellesa.
Hot Chili’s Costa Fuego is a boomer of a resource that is seems to be emerging at just the right time and the latest funding moves look set to put a solid set of wheels under the venture to get it fully on track.
Hot Chili grows Costa Fuego with Domeyko acquisition, where historical copper-gold mines are unexplored at depth
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The nearby Domeyko mountains of the Andes in copper-rich Chile. Pic via Getty Images
- Landholding increased by 25% at flagship Costa Fuego project, which has a current resource of 798Mt at 0.45% copper equivalent
- Domeyko concessions bought as exercisable options to purchase for $4m
- Domeyko mining centre hosts several significant historical copper-gold mines, unexplored at depth
Special Report: Porphyry developer Hot Chili has acquired the ‘Domeyko cluster’ tenements to boost the size of its flagship 798Mt Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile by 25%.
Costa Fuego has a current resource of 798Mt at 0.45% copper equivalent for 2.9Mt copper, 2.6Moz gold, 12.9Moz silver and 68,000t molybdenum.
Two years of drilling and studies have the project now pegged as a low-risk, low-cost and long-life copper project in the world’s largest producer of the red metal.
Lately, Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) has been busy building out a network around its project with water supply and transport deals in the region.
It’s executed a five-year MoU deal with the nearby port to evaluate bulk tonnage loading alternatives for copper concentrate from Costa Fuego that would include a ‘take or pay volume’ clause based on at least 80% of the project’s future annual concentrate production.
The explorer has also announced a focus on water infrastructure and desalination in Chile’s Atacama region – one of the driest regions on earth.

A new addition to the south
Domeyko is the largest land consolidation undertaken by Hot Chili since Cortadera was added to Costa Fuego in 2019, adding 141km2 and representing a 25% lift in the company’s total tenure in the region.
The move contains several new tenement applications in addition to an option agreement to acquire 100% interest in several key tenements covering a highly prospective, 10km-long copper-gold mineralisation corridor.
The Domeyko mining centre hosts several significant historical copper-gold mines which were principally exploited for oxide mineralisation yet have had very limited exploration for copper sulphide mineralisation.
Both porphyry and structurally hosted styles of mineralisation are present in the area and historic datasets are currently being looked over across several highly prospective targets that have never been drilled.
The total exercisable option to purchase Domeyko comes to $4m, payable within two years to a private Chilean syndicate.
More drilling, exploration and development study workstreams across Costa Fuego are ongoing and further updates on progress of the company’s regional water supply business case study are expected soon.
Hot Chili is raising $29.9m as studies ramp up on massive Costa Fuego copper project
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- Hot Chili has secured $24.9m through a private placement and is raising up to $5m under a share purchase plan
- Funds will support a Costa Fuego PFS, drilling, exploration and land consolidation
- Proceeds will also be used to set up a new water company
Special Report: Hot Chili is raising up to $29.9m through a private placement and share purchase plan to accelerate development of its meaty 798Mt Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile.
Australian, Canadian and overseas institutional investors along with existing shareholders demonstrated their confidence in the company’s assets by quickly snapping up the $24.9 million shares priced at $1 each under the private placement.
The company has good reason to be confident.
In the past two years, Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) has built Costa Fuego into a low-risk, low-cost and long-life copper-gold project with a current indicated resource of 798Mt at 0.45% copper equivalent, or contained resources of 2.9Mt copper, 2.6Moz gold, 12.9Moz silver and 68,000t molybdenum.
Indicated resources grant enough certainty for the company to start mine planning and also serve as a platform for a maiden reserve estimate for the upcoming pre-feasibility study.
HCH has already executed a five-year MoU deal with the nearby port to evaluate bulk tonnage loading alternatives for copper concentrate from Costa Fuego that would include a ‘take or pay volume’ clause based on at least 80% of the project’s future annual concentrate production.
The company is also exploring the potential to develop a water supply network in the Huasco valley region – one of the driest places in the world.

Fully funded to deliver key milestones
The placement is part of a broader capital raising that includes a share purchase plan offering existing shareholders the opportunity to subscribe for up to $30,000 worth of shares to raise up to $5m.
Taken together, the $29.9m capital raising ensures that HCH is fully funded to deliver the following key milestones in the growth and development of Costa Fuego:
- Completion the Costa Fuego PFS, expected in H2 2024
- Advance the water supply study and create a new water company, expected in H2 2024
- Up to 25,000m of drilling, exploration and further land consolidation over next 18 months, and,
- Commencement of a bankable feasibility study over the next 18 months
It will also increase the company’s s trading liquidity on the TSX Venture exchange.
“We control large-scale assets in two of the most critical commodities of our time – copper and water – with two of the most desirable attributes – low-risk and near-term,” Hot Chili managing director Christian Easterday said.
“The company has been receiving increasing interest from potential strategic funding parties in its advanced Costa Fuego copper-gold development and its recently announced water supply studies.
“This interest, in combination with a rising copper price environment, provides confidence to accelerate the Company’s growth and development plans while preserving control of these assets for our shareholders.”
Easterday is bullish the world is currently witnessing the early stages of a new copper price cycle, with a valuation of US$9,910/t on the LME at the time of writing.
Three-month contract prices rose around 18% in April alone, with a $60bn bid by BHP for Anglo American demonstrating the dearth of significant new copper developments in the global pipeline.
“The placement and share purchase plan maintain the company’s strategic funding optionality, while ensuring Costa Fuego remains one of a limited number of globally significant copper developments, not owned by a major mining company, that could deliver meaningful new copper supply this decade,” Easterday said.
“Market conditions are indicative of the initial stages of a new copper price cycle being driven by a lack of new supply. The company is now well funded to take advantage of controlling the right assets at the right time in the right place.”