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Barry FitzGerald STOCKHEAD

• 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.

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July 30, 2024 | Jessica Cummins

It’s the quarterly season again as the ASX market announcements page becomes increasingly flooded with update lodgements.

To save you the trouble of trudging through it all, we’ve wrapped up the highlights from some of the (resources) reports that caught our eye.

Hot Chili (ASX:HCH)

Hot Chili continued to focus on several development studies workstreams during the quarter ahead of the planned delivery of a pre-feasibility study for the Costa Fuego copper hub in late 2024.

In March, the company entered an MOU with the existing Las Losas port facility in Chile to negotiate a binding port services agreement and in May $31.9m was raised by way of a $24.9m private placement and $7m share purchase plan to fund development and exploration activities over the next 18 months.

Development study drilling during the quarter focussed on metallurgical and hydrogeological drill programs at Productora as well as the planned Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) for Costa Fuego while several independent experts were engaged to review and provide assurance reports for all critical areas of the PFS.

On the exploration front, HCH kicked-off several programs at newly acquired concessions covering the Domeyko Cluster, which span an area of 141km2 and represents a 25% increase in the company’s total landholding at Costa Fuego.

Soil geochemistry, geophysics and surface mapping were among the activities with an extensive ground magnetics survey currently underway.

The survey data collection is expected to be finalised early Q3 and will aid in targeting across this most recent addition to HCH’s tenement package. Post quarter, HCH also announced the launch of a water supply business Huasco Water, with Costa Fuego as a foundation offtake partner.

But its assessments to date have shown there will be external demand sources, with access to critical water rights in the dry Atacama region a do or die proposition for many projects.

HCH finished the quarter with $33.8m in the bank, funding the company says will facilitate “completion of the Costa Fuego Pre-Feasibility Study, completion of the Water Supply Business Case Study, completion of the Costa Fuego Environmental Impact Assessment, commencement of a bankable feasibility study and further exploration activities over the next 18 months.”

Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN)

SHN delivered thick gold and copper results from step-out drilling in the under-drilled Liontown Gap Zone at the 1,700km2 Ravenswood Consolidated project near Charters Towers in QLD.

Stand-out hits include 16.2m at 4.54 g/t gold, 1.11% copper from 319m including 5m at 2.96 g/t gold from 310m and 6.2m at 9g/t gold as well as 2.52% copper from 329m.

SHN believes the Gap Zone presents an opportunity for resource extension, with the first of seven diamond holes (~2,500m) kicking off in mid-July.

A resource update is scheduled for December.

Sunshine finished the quarter well stocked to chase extensions and new discoveries at Ravenswood, with $3.4m in the bank after spending $982,000 on exploration and evaluation in the June term.

Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY)

Completing Phase 1 RC and diamond drilling at the Minyari Dome gold-copper project in WA was AZY’s main goal for the quarter.

Results identified new zones of near-surface gold mineralisation along the northern edge of the GEO-01 discovery, at the GP01 target, and at the Minyari Southeastern Extension target.

Mineralisation at multiple GEO-01 lodes and the Minyari Southeastern Extension target remains open in most directions, adding to the existing maiden mineral resource opportunities.

Antipa already controls 1.8Moz at Minyari Dome, one of the largest resources in a region known for the legendary but ageing Telfer gold mine where consolidation is a live possibility, while it also boasts JVs with majors Rio, Newmont and IGO.

Including expenditure by those farm-in partners, AZY spent $3.27m on exploration in the June quarter, and held a total $8m in cash as of June 30. It also saw Lion Selection Group come in as a key institutional backer via a $2m investment, while Newmont topped up its 8.6% stake in the firm.

AZY additionally holds a $1m drill for equity deal with Topdrill, meaning it can stretch its cash balance further in pursuit of additional gold and copper resources.

Everest Metals Corporation (ASX:EMC)

EMC made significant headway on its portfolio of projects during the quarter beginning with the commencement of bulk sampling at the Revere gold project, which sets the company on the pathway for a maiden resource.

A process plant is due to be mobilised this quarter to the site, where 8000t of stockpiled high-grade near surface material has been prepared, with some samples grading up to 33g/t. Gold grades up to almost 100g/t in parts have also been identified in drilling at the site.

Over at Mt Edon, Phase 1 resource drilling continued to find multiple pegmatites including results up to 0.54% rubidium oxide and up to 1% lithium oxide.The extraction process in collaboration with Edith Cowan University (ECU) recovered ~75% rubidium, demonstration the project is developing into a standalone rubidium deposit. A maiden resource is due in August, with phase 2 drilling pegged for the December quarter.

EMC divested its uranium projects to Cobold Metals and looks forward to working with the team towards completing the IPO over the coming quarters.

It held $3.1m in cash at the end of June, with another $500,000 tranche from a recent $2.2m placement landing in July.